For public schools in NYC, last week was Spring Break, but that did not keep the dedicated chess students away from the April 27th NYCHESSKIDS Tournament. Almost 200 students from both public and private schools in the NYC metro area woke up early Sunday morning and made their way to the school on a day when the temptation to stay home surely must have been great. Kudos to them all for their display of commitment and character.

Two schools were rewarded with a team room because of the number of kids their coaches brought, OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE in Brooklyn and ST DAVID’S on the Upper Eastside. Thanks again to those coaches for their support.

As has been the case all year, the NO SCORE section continued its record of success, with 21 kids from 8 different schools competing, and of those, almost half came from ST DAVID’S on the Upper Eastside. (Congratulations to chess coach CHRIS WILLIAMS for being able to bring so many kids to play in one section.) Though there was an unusual 21-way tie for 1st place in this section, luckily the tournament staff had 21 golden 1st place trophies on hand to reward their efforts. Extra thanks to MADELINE INGOGLIA from PS 116 for her focused creativity on the chessboard and to Joseph Bedner from ST DAVID’S for his strong play.

NOVICE 1 had 34 kids from 16 different schools competing. 1st Place team honors went to ST DAVID’S with 11 points, and 2nd went to PS 116 with 8 points. For individual awards MAX GERACI from ST DAVID’S took 3rd, BENJI WEINSTEIN from SOLOMON SCHECTER took 2nd, and LUCAS RUIZ from NEST took clear 1st with the only perfect score in this section. This tournament, NOVICE 2 was the smallest section with 13 kids from 7 different schools vying for top honors. For team awards, OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE in Brooklyn took 2nd place with 6.5 points and BWL took clear 1st with 11 points. Top individual honors went to PRANAV SRINIVASAN from BWL who took 3rd place, ARIANA DILLON from OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE who took 2nd on tiebreaks, and WILLIAM NEDERLANDER from BWL who took 1st with a perfect score for the day.

The K-1 section had 15 kids from 10 different schools with NEST taking 3rd place team honors with 4 points, HUNTER taking 2nd with 5 points, and PS 116 taking 1st place with 7 points. CATHERINE YI from BREARLEY took home the 3rd place individual trophy, CLARA NEUBAUER from MANHATTAN MONTESSORI too home the 2nd place trophy, and MAURY AHRAM from NEST took home the 1st place trophy with the only perfect score in the section.

PRIMARY had 29 kids from 17 different schools. In the team honors category only ½ point per place separated the teams, NEST took 3rd place with 5 points, DALTON took 2nd with 5.5, and HUNTER took 3rd with 6 points. Top individual honors in this section were hard to come by this tournament, as the competition was stiff. VIOLET HULL from PS 334 took 3rd with 3.5 points, which on a normal day might be enough to place 1st. MARK IVANOV only took 2nd with a perfect score, and OLIVER NEUBAUER from MANHATTAN MONTESSORI took 1st on tiebreaks also with a perfect score. The RESERVE section had 19 competitors from only 4 different schools, unusual for this section and tournament. ST DAVID’S took 3rd place team honors with 7 points, OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE took 2nd with 10 points, and PS 116 took 1st with an astounding 12 points. Top individual honors went to NOCHOLAS PIZZO from PS 116 who took 4th place, REMI MOON also from PS 116 who took 3rd, ALEX WOJNO from OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE who took 2nd place on tiebreaks, and TAKAYUKI ISHIKAWA from BROWNING who took clear 1st with a perfect score.

The CLASSIC section was inaugurated this tournament, designed for students in the 800-1100 chess rating range. There were 14 students in this section from 9 different schools. DALTON placed 3rd in team honors with 4 points, HUNTER placed 2nd with 4.5, and PS 116 placed 1st with 6.5 points. Individual honors went to JORDAN CHAMBERS from DALTON who placed clear 3rd, THOMAS KNOFF from BROWNING who placed 2nd, and AUSTEN RATTRAY from ST DAVID’S who placed 1st on tiebreaks.

In the OPEN section, 27 kids from 12 different schools competed, with HUNTER taking 3rd place team honors with 5.5 points, PS 6 taking 2nd with 7 points, and DALTON handily taking 1st with 10 points. Top single honors went to three students who all had 3.5 points, JONATHAN KOGAN from LOWER LAB took 3rd, VAUGHN McDONALD from PS 6 took 2nd on tie-breaks, and CHRISTOPHER LEE from HUNTER took 1st on tie-breaks.

CHAMPIONSHIP had 20 students from 12 different schools competing. Team honors went to PS 116, which placed 3rd with 3 points, DALTON, which placed 2nd with 4 points, and HORACE MANN, which handily placed 1st with 8 points. Top individual honors went to ZACHARY RIVKIN from HORACE MANN who placed 3rd place on tiebreaks, Gordon Yang from PS 124 who placed 2nd, and KEVIN ROSENBERG from DAVIS who placed 1st on tiebreaks.

Instituted this tournament one student from each section won a free entry for the next tournament BY DRAWING, and another student in each section won a free week of SUMMER CHESS CAMP also BY DRAWING. Also, Kadhir PILLAL from PS 116 won a free entry to NATIONALS in PHILADELPHIA.

Again, another NYCHESSKIDS tournament was a roaring success, thanks to you, students, parents, and coaches. We look forward to seeing you MAY 31st at PS 163, our new school on the Upper Westside, and back at PS 116 on JUNE 8th.

Till then, peace.