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Photos from Whittier Elementary’s March Chess Tournament

Whittier Elementary School completed their school chess tournament on March 2.  The Saturday morning event, which was primarily run by Mr. Koen, was held in the school gymnasium, although parents and students waited in the cafeteria before we began. We had 22 students who attended, with 9 winning trophies. 

After a quick explanation of the rules, and speeches by Mr. Koen and Ms. Dosh about good sportsmanship, the students were brought in for the first section of the Pawn Game. All students were paired against each other for 3 rounds playing with only the pawns. This was followed by 2 rounds of full chess. Prizes were awarded for both overall winners in the full chess and pawn section, as well as the top performing student 2nd grade and below in both sections. Not all the students were in the school’s chess club, however the chess club almost swept the trophy winners. Excellent performance by all students who showed up!

Trophy Winners

Pawns Tournament, Top Finishers 2nd Grade and Under:

1st Place: Kennedy

2nd Place: Joaquin

3rd Place: Maxwell

 

Pawns Tournament, Overall Winners:

1st Place: Markan

2nd Place: Tanoor

3rd Place: Jake

 

Full Game Tournament, Top Finishers 2nd Grade and Under:

1st Place: Kennedy

2nd Place: Maxwell

3rd Place: Triston

 

Full Game Tournament, Overall Winners:

1st Place: Grayson

2nd Place: Heran

3rd Place: Jake

 

Judit and Sofia Polgar Played a Simul in the German Bundestag to Honor Israeli Hostages

We try to inculcate our motto of Friendship, Courage, Integrity to all our students. We see examples of these traits in many strong chess players, although, regrettably, not all.

 

The best female player ever, Judit Polgar, with the active participation of her sister, International Master Sofia Polgar, recently performed a simultaneous exhibition in the German Parliament in Berlin to honor the hostages taken from Israel into Gaza. The exhibition strengthened the ties of friendship between Germany and Israel, while allowing 40 chess players the opportunity to face the Polgar sisters, who are retired from active competitive play.

 

The simul in the German Bundestag on March 14

With anti-Israel sentiment running high in many places, it took considerable courage to speak out for the hostages. Judit is a chess player of unquestioned integrity. Despite facing discrimination as a young player, which deprived her as a teenager of opportunities to compete for the World Chess Championship and to represent her country of Hungary in the Olympiad (she was offered, but declined, the chance to play in the Women’s Division of each), she steadfastly worked to become the strongest female player ever.

 

In rising to the top of the chess world, Polgar defeated 11 current or past World Champions including Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov when they were each ranked #1. She broke Bobby Fischer’s record of becoming the youngest grandmaster ever and did so before the changes in the system that allowed the rank of grandmaster to become more common. She is the only woman ever to be ranked among the top ten players in the world.

 

When she speaks on an issue, the world listens. Now, she speaks on the topic of hostages. As she recently said, “Speaking up for hostages is not political. It is humanitarian.

 

“The world of sports is asking all athletes to heed the call to protect the safety and security of all hostages.”

 

The exhibition was staged by Chess4Solidarity, a collaboration between Germany and Israel.

Judit and Sofia Polgar, pictured in 1988

Elementary Team League 2023-24 Matchday 7 Results

Yesterday at St. Luke’s we brought the curtain down on the Metro Area Chess League for the season, with students from eleven of our clubs turning out to represent their school teams.  In what was a close race all year to the finish, Spring Hill held on to first place in the final standings by ten points over Churchill Road, with White Oaks, Poplar Tree and Kent Gardens all close behind them.

However, while everyone competes hard to win, the results are of secondary importance when compared with the experience and confidence the students gain when representing their schools in a competitive setting.  We’re happy to see several of our students from the League go on to take part in competitions like the state championships — held this past weekend — and the Nationals, coming up next month.

 

Round 13:
Kent Gardens 3-1 Colvin Run
Willow Springs 3-1 Ravensworth
Spring Hill 4-0 Oakton
Greenbriar West 2-2 Lorton Station
Orange Hunt 0-4 Poplar Tree
White Oaks 2-2 Churchill Road
 
Round 14:
Poplar Tree 3-1 Greenbriar West
Colvin Run 2.5-1.5 Willow Springs
Churchill Road 2-2 Spring Hill
Lorton Station 1-3 Kent Gardens
Oakton 1-0 Orange Hunt
Ravensworth 0-4 White Oaks
 
Final Standings after Matchday 7 of 7:
 
Spring Hill 178
Churchill Road 168
White Oaks 164
Poplar Tree 157
Kent Gardens 154
Willow Springs 130
Colvin Run 122
Greenbriar West 115
Orange Hunt 79 
Oakton 52
Ravensworth 50
Lorton Station 36

Learning All The Way – Tysons Corner Action Tournament

Apparently, I have stamina problems. The blitz tournament went far better than expected, but then one tough draw in rapid time control, and all my energy was zapped. I was able to rally by Game 4, but this was certainly not my best effort. 

I spent drizzly Super Bowl Sunday indoors, playing at the Tysons Corner Action and Blitz tournaments hosted by DMV Chess. I’ve been to this regular tournament often, with middling but always rewarding results. However, this was my first time also attending their earlier blitz tournament, my second ever. 

I didn’t expect to win the blitz tournament, and I didn’t, but I came within a half point hair. Instead, I ended in a 3-way tie for 2nd place, and 3rd place overall after tiebreaks. Facing opponents far more skilled than myself, including my friendly rival Don MacLean, I managed to pull out an excellent 7.0/10 points. 

The blitz tournament was double-pairing, meaning I played two games against each opponent. It started out slow, trading wins against my first two opponents, before sweeping the next two. While the games were interesting, I couldn’t tell you how I won (or lost) them, except in one notable game. Still, I greatly enjoyed the pace and casual nature of the ordeal. Faster chess favors intuition over calculation, and as such favors me. My last opponent was the eventual winner, but I still won our first game. The confidence from that win went a long way in our second game. However, just as the defensive tango started getting spicy, I hung a back-rank mate. I lost out on the $100 and settled, quite happily mind you, for third. I credit hosting the weekly Bishops and Beers open chess night for my blitz success. 

During the intermission between tournaments, Don and I went for a walk to get a late lunch. Two other players from the blitz tournament drove by and offered us a ride to a nearby restaurant. This was their first tournament ever, and it was exciting to chat with new faces. We talked about and played a game over a quick meal, before hurrying back for the rapid tournament. After talking with me and Don, the pair also decided to try out the rapid tournament! 

The first 41 moves of Round 1 (before time pressure set in)

Game one was a tense affair. I felt safe throughout the opening as white’s minor pieces tripped over his pawns, but he still didn’t give me a way in. That changed after we traded queens and I got the opportunity for a pawn to break through. We picked up the pace as my opponent’s clocked ticked lower and lower. It soon reached a scant 2 seconds on the clock to my 3 minutes. His endgame was stronger than his middlegame, even while living on the 5 second delay. We at last reached a dreaded queen vs. rook endgame, in my favor. While I had studied this very endgame before, I couldn’t figure out the method over the board. The game ended with a stalemate trap, with a crowd of onlookers watching me flail. 

The worst part about long games is that you have no time before the next round. Which probably led to game two being such a rollercoaster. It started strong, as I locked his pieces behind his pawns. To save a bishop, I threatened to sacrifice the other for a repetition. My opponent, rated 300 points higher than me, did not allow the draw. Instead, his counterattack threw me into a tight position. To exploit his advantage, he sacrificed a rook for a mating attack. However, he again allowed a chance for a repetition. Now a rook up, and holding, I felt like I could do better than a draw. I was wrong, and I lost.

Game three was a sorry affair that I am not proud of. All I could think of was how I was outplayed in last game, and distracted by a mechanical humming sound in constant one second bursts. Even with ear plugs in, or perhaps because of it, I couldn’t keep my mind off that humming and oh there goes my knight. I resigned far earlier than I would normally, because I had to admit I wasn’t giving nor could give my best. At least now I had time to rest between rounds. 

With 0.5/3, I was paired with another kid who had so far gone 0.0/3. Neither of us were having a good tournament. I got myself tangled in the opening (that mechanical humming was a Chinese water torture on my brain), but my gracious opponent allowed me to awkwardly unfold my position. By the time I was ready to attack, I noticed his isolated king’s pawn and seized on the weakness. I traded pieces, confident that I would be favored in the endgame. I was saved from defending that confidence when my opponent gave away his queen en prise and resigned. 

Not my best tournament, but learning all the way.

Metro Area Chess League 2023-24: Round 2 Results & Round 3 Pairings

Round 2 Results

White on Boards 1 & 3 – White on Boards 2 & 4

Magruder 1-3 Poolesville
DeMatha 1-3 McNamara
E.L. Haynes 4-0 Girls Global Academy
Richard Montgomery 3-1 Gonzaga
Rockville 2.5-1.5 Arlington Career Center
Oakton 4-0 West Springfield
St. Albans 0-4 Don Bosco Cristo Rey
BASIS DC 0-0 Marshall
Montgomery Blair 0.5-3.5 Chantilly
St. Anselm’s 2-2 Jackson-Reed
Hayfield 0-0 McLean
Rochambeau 4-0 BYE
St. John’s 0-4 Langley
McKinley Tech 0-3 Georgetown Prep

Round 3 Pairings

Below are the pairings for the third round to be played by January 12

White on Boards 1 & 3 – White on Boards 2 & 4

Poolesville – Chantilly
Bishop McNamara – Richard Montgomery
Langley – Rockville
St. Anselm’s – Oakton
Rochambeau – Magruder
Jackson-Reed – EL Haynes
Georgetown Prep – McLean
BASIS DC – Blair
West Springfield – Marshall
Gonzaga – McKinley Tech
Girls Global Academy – St. John’s
Hayfield – DeMatha
Don Bosco Cristo Rey – Arlington Career

League Standings

Teams are ranked by Match Points, then by Board Points.

PlaceSchoolTotal Match PointsTotal Board Points
1stOakton28
2nd (Tie)Chantilly27.5
2nd (Tie)Langley27.5
4th (Tie)Poolesville27
4th (Tie)Richard Montgomery27
6thRockville26.5
7th (Tie)St. Anselm's1.56
7th (Tie)Bishop McNamara1.55
9thDon Bosco Cristo Rey15
10thRochambeau14.5
11th (Tie)E.L. Haynes14
11th (Tie)Magruder14
11th (Tie)McLean14
14thMontgomery Blair13.5
15thGeorgetown Prep13
16thGonzaga0.53
17th (Tie)BASIS DC0.52
17th (Tie)Jackson-Reed0.52
17th (Tie)McKinely Tech0.52
17th (Tie)St. Albans0.52
17th (Tie)West Springfield0.52
22ndArlington Career Center02.5
23rdDeMatha01
24th (Tie)Girls Global Academy00
24th (Tie)Hayfield00
24th (Tie)Marshall00
24th (Tie)St. John's00

Magruder High School Live Streaming Chess Competition

Metro Area Chess League participant Col. Zadok Magruder High School is in the middle of their spring chess competition.  Games are taking place in the auditorium during the school day, and Magruder’s chess club sponsor, Mr. Sanders, has put in the effort to set the event up for streaming.  The games can be followed live on the school’s YouTube channel.  The semifinals and finals are currently set for May 17 and 24, respectively.

We are very pleased to see school faculty members devoting time, space and energy to promote chess among students.