Saturday December 1st was a beautiful day in New York City. For 122 kids from public and private schools from the 5 boroughs, it was a great day to play chess.

In the NO SCORE section 14 kids competed, some in their first ever tournament. Of course some of the parents were as jittery as the students in the first rounds. But eventually everyone settled down, played good games, and had fun. All the students in this section tied for first place and received a trophy, an unusual occurrence for which the nychesskids staff was fortunately prepared for. Standouts in this section were Maya Sapozhnikova from PS 116 for her focused, calm play, and Andrew Duer from the Howell School for his fighting spirit.

This tournament featured a new K-1 RATED section for serious-minded players who would rather earn their first chess rating against kindergarteners and 1st graders instead of against the older kids in PRIMARY. The NEST SCHOOL took 2nd place for team honors, and PS 116 took 1st.  For top individual honors BERNARD POLLARA from NEST took 2nd, and AIDEN McGORRY from PS 116 took 1st.

NOVICE 1 had 14 kids from 8 different schools.  PS 116 garnered the 2nd place team trophy by a nose over NEST. The 1st place trophy easily went to PS 77 who commandeered the team points. Clear 3rd place for individual awards was won by MILES BREWSTER from BROOKLYN FRIENDS, while two brothers OWEN and BRENDAN SULLIVAN from PS 77 duked it out for 1st and 2nd place. Both had perfect scores, though OWEN took 1st due to tie-breaks.

There were 22 kids from 12 different schools in NOVICE 2. For team honors PS 242 took 3rd and PS 116 took 2nd, profitting from tie-breaks. HOWELL won a commanding 1st. For individual honors the top three spots were swept by kids from HOWELL, ALEX NEWMAN took 3rd, STEVEN DUER took 2nd, and LUCAS DEMAS took 1st with the only perfect score in this section.

In PRIMARY 15 kids represented 11 different schools. NEST took 3rd place team honors, PS 41 took 2nd on tie-breaks, and PS 116 took 1st. For individual performance, MYLES WOLF from WINDWARD took 3rd on tie-breaks, RYAN HOANG from HORACE MANN took 2nd on tie-breaks, and ADRIAN DURKIN from PS 41 took clear 1st with this section’s only perfect score.

RESERVE was this tournament’s biggest section with 36 kids from 17 different schools. MOTT HALL 2 took clear 3rd for team honors, IS 223 took a commanding clear 2nd, and PS 116 took 1st with an even more commanding clear 1st. Top individual honors went to ALEX LIPAN from PS 116 who captured clear 3rd, ALEXANDER CRUMP from PS 116 who captured 2nd though he had a perfect score, and ISAAC VEYTSMAN who captured 1st on tie-breaks with a perfect score.

The OPEN section had 10 kids from 8 different schools. PS 116 took top team honors, COLLEGIATE took clear 2nd, and RAMAZ took clear 3rd. For individual awards, GIOVANNI QUATTROCHI from MOTT HALL 2 took 3rd on tie-breaks, JACOB BERMAN from RAMAZ took clear 2nd, and ANDREW BERGER from COLLEGIATE took clear 1st with a perfect score.

CHAMPIONSHIP had 12 kids from 8 different schools. Top team honors went to HORACE MANN. The 2nd place individual award went to ZACHARY RIVKIN, and NITAI LEVE took 1st, though they tied in the points column. A two-game blitz shootout decided the outcome, with NITAI taking both hard-fought games.

The next tournament at PS116 is January 21st, 2008. This is a Monday tournament since schools will be off due to Martin Luther King's Day.