FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Contact: Joan DuBois                     [email protected]
                                                       (931)787-1234 ext:123

This year’s National Youth Action (NYA) was sponsored by the U.S. Federation.  The organization of this event, however, was a joint effort between NTD Franc Guadalupe and Mr. Russell Harwood, Chess Program Director of the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College (UTB/TSC).  The event took place at the Fort Brown Memorial Center in the grounds of UTB/TSC.  It drew 455 participants, all but 10 from the State of Texas.

The main event consisted of nine rounds, Game/30.  Those fast games proved to be very exciting and that is from where the name “Action” comes.  There were four divisions:  Primary (K-3), Elementary (K-6), Junior High (K-9) and High School (K-12).

The following is the list of Division Champions:

K-12 – Ted Belanoff, a Senior at Woodside High School, Woodside, CA, with 8.5 out of 9 points.                       
K-9 – Jeffery Hung and Ian Santos, both seventh-graders at Vela MS in Brownsville (8.0 points)     K-6 – Michael W. Brown, a six-grader at Portola Hills Elementary, Trabuco Canyon, CA (9.0 points)
K-3 – Winston Ching-Tze Zeng, second-grader at Turtle Rock Elementary, Irvine, CA (8.0 points)

Side Events winners:

K-12 Blitz – Michael W. Brown                                                                                                             
K-6 Blitz – Edgar Santoyo (Americo Paredes Elementary in Brownsville) and Georgia Olvera (Bishop Garriga Middle School in Corpus Christi, TX)

Bughouse – Bothers Daniel and Jeffery Hung

Team Champions (all from Brownsville):

K-12 – Hanna High School                                                                                                                
K-9 – Vela Middle School                                                                                                                   
K-6 – Vela Middle School                                                                                                                   
K-3 – Americo Paredes Elementary

Our thanks to the members of the chess team of UTB/TSC for their volunteer efforts throughout the event.  High School seniors can earn full chess scholarships at UTB/TSC.  For details about their chess program, visit http://blue.utb.edu/sa/chess/

For the NYA tournament report from Chess Life Online see: http://main.uschess.org/content/view/8892/497/ .  For rated results, see http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200811094511.0