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National News

Almost 500 Compete in Virginia Scholastic Chess Championships

By Mike Hoffpauir

On March 12-13, the Virginia tidewater area hosted the 2005 Virginia State Scholastic Chess Championship Tournament. With a good luck letter from Governor Mark R. Warner in hand, 474 players from schools across the Commonwealth slugged it out for two action-packed days for the right to be called State Individual and Team Champions. When it was all done, trophies were handed out to the top 14 individuals and top 5 teams in each of the 4 sections of the event.

In the Kindergarten through 3rd Grade Section, 3rd graders Meredith Collins and David Clayton finished with 5.5/6 points to rise to the top from a field of nearly 100 youngsters to become 2005’s State Co-Champions. Meredith, a home schooled young lady from Roanoke, had recently tuned-up her game by competing in the annual Millennium Chess Festival in Virginia Beach. The experience against adults must have paid off. David Clayton, from Chesterfield Elementary and the pre-tournament favorite, held his form to grab half of the State Championship Title. Finishing in 3rd place, a half-point behind Meredith and David was Ashley Xue of Hunters Woods Elementary. Top Team honors in the K-3 section were taken by Bull Run Elementary School of Fairfax County. Bull Run's coach, Bill Moore, was honored for his team's effort and designated "K-3 Coach of the Year." Tied for 2nd and 3rd place team honors were two entries teams from the Tidewater area, Yorktown Elementary and Deer Park Elementary.

The K-5 section of the tournament was the largest, with almost 170 players. This section was won by three players who are 2005's State Co-champions: Bull Run Elementary 5th grader Quentin Moore and teammate 4th Grader Andrew Freix, as well as 5th Grader Darwin Li of Forest Edge Elementary finished in a 3-way tie with 5.5/6 points. With Moore and Freix being on the same team, it was not a surprise when Bull Run Elementary Team walked away with the K-5 Team Championship, squeaking by second place finisher Louise Archer Elementary by one-half of a point. Springfield Park Elementary’s team from the Richmond area finished in 3rd place. The 2005 State K-5 Coach of the Year title went to Bill Moore -- yes, that’s two Coach of the Year titles in one day for Coach Moore!

K-8 play was lead by the 5th ranked player in the nation among 13 year olds, 8th grader Adithya Balasubramanian from Tabb Middle School in York County. Balsubramanian swept the field of 125 players, winning all 6 of his games en route to top individual honors. Behind him were 7 players, all with a score of 5.0. Tiebreaks separated the field, handing 2nd and 3rd place honors to Edward Lu (Frost Middle School) and Matthew Hantzmon (Charlottesville Catholic). In team play, Richmond area's Manchester Middle School dominated the field and grabbed the title as State K-8 Team Champions. Longfellow Middle School slipped passed Roanoke's James Madison Middle School to win second place by one-half a point. Coach of the Year honors went to Brian Sumner, coach of the Manchester Middle School gang.

In the K-12 section, last year’s champion Ruixin Yang (USCF 2152, Thomas Jefferson High) outpaced the field with a 5.5/6 score to capture sole possession of the 2005 State K-12 Title. The win earns Mr. Yang his second successive trip to the Denker Tournament of High School Champions to be held in August. Three players tied for 2nd-4th places behing Yang, with Ettie Nikolova from Oscar Smith High and Robert Brady, a TJ High teammate of Yang’s, grabbing the 2nd and 3rd place trophies. For her finish as “top female,” Ms. Nikolova has won the right to represent Virginia at the 2005 Susan Polgar Tournament for Girls this coming August. The K-12 Team competition saw Thomas Jefferson High walk away with the 2005 State Championship for the 6th straight year, blowing past two teams tied for 2nd and 3rd place—Franklin County High and Maggie Walker Governor’s School. The plaque for K-12 Coach of the Year went to Ms. Theresa Shaeffer of Thomas Jefferson High.

In between the 5th and 6th rounds, Mr. Joseph Feygelson (1994 VA State Champion, USCF 2357) conducted a simultaneous exhibition against some 30 players. Several youngsters drew Mr. Feygelson and earned a nice set of Star Wars Cards, courtesy of Mr. Feygelson. Joseph said he “made a draw with these players on purpose,” but we know better!?

This year’s tournament was organized by Mike Hoffpauir, Tom Philipoom, and Ernest Schlich, a US Chess Federation National Tournament Director who also doubled as Chief TD. The 2006 State Championships are planned for the second weekend of March in the Roanoke area.

St. Bernard Chess League hosts lecture, exhibition

By Lynn Irby

The St. Bernard Chess League sponsored its second annual chess lecture and simultaneous chess exhibition on Saturday, March 12, 2005, at Nunez Community College. World famous New Orleans chess master and author, Jude Acers, "The Man in the Red Beret," was the guest of honor. Mr. Acers has made more than 1,000 chess appearances in 48 states and five countries.

He began with a chess lecture, gave chess tips on improving one's game, and recommended several chess books for various levels of play. Afterwards, Mr. Acers gave a demonstration of one of his favorite games. "The Man in the Red Beret" then proceeded to play 20 K-12 students simultaneously. He holds two world records for simultaneous chess, playing 117 opponents (1973) and 179 opponents (1976) at once and is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The event began promptly at 1:00 p.m. and lasted two hours. The Last Man Standing was Tyler Heston, age 9, a fourth grader at Lacoste Elementary School in Chalmette. Afterwards, the students inundated Mr. Acers for autographs and pictures.