PCSAA

PCSAA Middle School Chess League Wraps Up With Close Finish

After seven Saturdays of play, the spring 2022 season of the PCSAA Middle School Chess League finished this afternoon.  BASIS DC and District of Columbia International School both entered the final day of play with undefeated records, and in their match against one another, either school could have taken the season championship with a victory.

In the final game to finish, the BASIS player had a decisive advantage after: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 Na6 3. dxe5 d6 4. exd6 Bxd6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Bxa6 bxa6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Bg5 Be7 10. Qxd8 Raxd8 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nd5 Bxb2 13. Rab1 Ba3 14. Nxc7 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Rd6 16. Rb3 Bc5 17. Rd3 Rg6+ 18. Kh1 Bd6 19. Nxa6 Rh6 20. h3 Rxh3+ 21. Kg2 Rh6 22. Rfd1 Rd8 23. e5 Rg6+ 24. Kf1 f5 25. Rxd6 Rdxd6 26. Rxd6 Rxd6 27. exd6 Kf7 28. c4 Ke6 29. c5 g5 30. Nc7+ Kd7 31. Kg2 h5 32. Nd5 g4 33. Nf6+ Kc6 34. d7 Kc7 35. fxg4 hxg4 36. Kg3 a5 37. c6 a4 38. Nd5+ Kd8 39. Kf4, but like all resourceful chess players Black stayed astute for a way to save the game. 

 39… g3 40. fxg3 a3 reached the position shown on the left, and if White captures the f-pawn without thinking, 41. Kxf5?? is stalemate.  Instead, White sharply sidestepped Black’s drawing trap with 41. Nf6 and won in twelve more moves.  (41. Ke5 would have mated faster, but a win is a win.)  BASIS narrowly won the match 4.5-3.5 and took the title.

Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Science swept their match against E.L. Haynes to retain third place in the season standings, while Meridian held onto fourth place on the board points tiebreaker despite losing to Children’s Guild.  One more half-point in their match would have put Children’s Guild ahead.  

Round-by-round results and the final standings for the season can be viewed here.  We congratulate all of the students who showed up to play on lichess this year and we hope to see more of them in upcoming chess competitions in the DC area.

PCSAA Middle School League Spring Season Has Begun

The DC Public Charter School Athletic Association’s Middle School Chess League is now back in action for the spring 2022 season.  District of Columbia International School (DCI) returns to attempt to defend their title from last year.  Also coming back from the prior season are BASIS DC, The Children’s Guild, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School, Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Science, and Meridian Public Charter School.  

Current League Standings
SchoolMatch PointsBoard Points (Tiebreaker)
BASIS DC6.544
District of Columbia International School540
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Sciences429.5
Meridian Public Charter School218
The Children's Guild217.5
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School111

Matches are played on Saturdays on lichess.org, and there are 7 matchdays in total scheduled for this season.  Those interested can keep track of the results and standings here.  

Final Team Standings for the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League

Congratulations to DC International School for their victory in the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League.  Saturday, May 15 was the final Match Day (Rounds 13 & 14) and DCI dominated yet again, maintaining the lead they established at the start of the season, and securing victory with 13.5 match points.  DCI almost achieved a perfect record, but BASIS DC, our second place team with 11 match points, fought DCI to a draw in Round 12 last week.

Imagine Hope edged out Howard University for third place, despite both teams having 8 match points.  The decision came down to the tie-breaker of board points (Imagine Hope had 31 to HU-MS²’s 28 board points).

Thank you to all the teams, students, and coaches!  We hope to see all the teams return in the Fall for a new season.

Final Team Standings after Match Day 7

SchoolMatch PointsBoard Points
(Tiebreaker Only)
DC International School13.551.5
BASIS DC1142
Imagine Hope Community Charter School831
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Science828
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School420.5

Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys

316

The Children’s Guild DC Public Charter School

211
Meridian Public Charter School112

Results after Round 14 (Saturday, May 15, 2021)

Inaugural DC Public Charter High School Chess League – Spring 2021 Results

The inaugural season of the DC Public Charter High School chess league concluded on Tuesday, May 11th, and went well. Among three teams it was close throughout, and Somerset is ready to be competitive in the fall.

In the fall, we will be re-launching the Metro Area Chess League (MACL) for all interested high schools in the DC metropolitan area.  The 2021-2022 MACL season will begin in mid-November 2021 and conclude with play-offs at the end of March 2022.  Schools that want to participate should send us a note at:  hs-league@chessctr.org 

We also welcome high school students to our Sunday Chess class.  Registration for the Fall 2021 session will begin in late August 2021.

Team Standings After Match Day 6 for the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League

Saturday, May 8 was the penultimate Match Day (Rounds 11 & 12) of the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League.  One more Match Day to go!

DC International School maintains their lead in first place and will face Howard University and Imagine Hope in the final two rounds on Match Day 7.  Both schools could present a challenge, but DCI just needs one more match point to insure their overall victory.  Meanwhile, our second place stalwart, BASIS DC, needs strong victories against both of their Round 13 & 14 rivals (Howard University and E.L. Haynes, respectively) and for DCI to endure their first two outright losses.  Anything could happen!  

Yet, the fiercest competition of the Spring 2021 PCSAA League continues in the fight for third place with Imagine Hope and Howard University continuing their rivalry.  Both are still in strong contention, but Howard University has the more challenging schedule to overcome as they face our two current leaders, DCI and BASIS DC, in the final rounds.  

Good luck to all the schools and players!

Team Standings after Match Day 6

SchoolMatch PointsBoard Points
(Tiebreaker Only)
DC International School11.543.5
BASIS DC9.537
Imagine Hope Community Charter School7.529
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Science7.526
Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys315
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School316.5
Meridian Public Charter School110
The Children’s Guild DC Public Charter School05

Results after Round 12 (Saturday, May 8, 2021)

Team Standings after Match Day 5 for the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League

Saturday, May 1 was Match Day 5 (Rounds 9 & 10) of the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League.

First and second place remain the same from last week with DC International School and BASIS DC comfortable in their positions. The intense struggle for third place continues, however, with Howard University Middle School for Mathematics and Science and Imagine Hope Community Charter School separated by only .5 match points (and .5 board points, too).  With two match days (or 4 rounds) still to go anything could happen. 

Good luck to all the teams!

Team Standings after Match Day 5

SchoolMatch PointsBoard Points
(Tiebreaker Only)
DC International School1037.5
BASIS DC832
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Science621.5
Imagine Hope Community Charter School5.522
Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys2.513
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School212.5
Meridian Public Charter School18.5
The Children’s Guild DC Public Charter School03

Results after Round 10 (Saturday, May 1, 2021)

Team Standings after Match Day 4 for the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League

Saturday, April 24 was Match Day 4 (Rounds 7 & 8) of the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League.

DC International School held onto their lead and has pulled away from BASIS DC.  Howard University Middle School for Mathematics and Science and Imagine Hope Community Charter School continue their fierce battle for third place.  Meanwhile, Statesmen College Preparatory Academy For Boys made big gains — moving up two places.  We might be seeing the start of a Statesmen surge!

Three more Match Days (or 6 Rounds) to go. 

Good luck to all the teams!

Team Standings after Match Day 4

SchoolMatch PointsBoard Points
(Tiebreaker Only)
DC International School830
BASIS DC6.528
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Science4.517
Imagine Hope Community Charter School416
Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys2.511.5
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School211.5
Meridian Public Charter School16.5
The Children’s Guild DC Public Charter School02.5

Results after Round 8 (Saturday, April 24, 2021)

Team Standings after Match Day 3 for the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League

Saturday, April 10 was Match Day 3 (Rounds 5 & 6) of the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League.

DC International School moved into the lead with BASIS DC still in contention. Howard University Middle School for Mathematics and Science and Imagine Hope Community Charter School continue to spar for third.

Four more Match Days (or 8 Rounds) to go. 

Good luck to all the teams!

Team Standings after Match Day 3

SchoolMatch PointsBoard Points
(Tiebreaker Only)
DC International School623
BASIS DC520
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Science414
Imagine Hope Community Charter School312
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School28.5
Meridian Public Charter School15
Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys0.55
The Children’s Guild DC Public Charter School02.5

Results after Round 6 (Saturday, April 10, 2021)

Team Standings after Match Day 2 for the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League

Saturday, March 27 was Match Day 2 (Rounds 3 & 4) of the Spring 2021 PCSAA Middle School Chess League.

DC International School and BASIS DC continue their fierce battle for the lead with Howard University Middle School for Mathematics and Science and Imagine Hope Community Charter School close at their heels.

We still have five Match Days (or 10 Rounds) to go. Good luck to all the teams!

Team Standings after Match Day 2

School Match Points Board Points
(Tiebreaker Only)
DC International School 4 16
BASIS DC 4 15
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Science 3 11
Imagine Hope Community Charter School 3 10
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School 1 5.5
Meridian Public Charter School .5 2
Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys 0 2
The Children’s Guild DC Public Charter School 0 .5
Results after Round 4 (Saturday, March 27, 2021)

Welcoming New Schools to the Spring Season of the PCSAA Middle School Chess League

The new Spring 2021 Season of the PCSAA Middle School Chess League kicked-off this past Saturday, March 20th, and we’re pleased to welcome three new schools/teams to the league: Children’s Guild, E.L. Haynes, and Meridian Public Charter Schools.

 

In the Fall 2020 Season, BASIS DC narrowly edged out DCI to win, but with eight teams in the league now the competition has increased.  Good luck to all the teams! 

Standings after Match Day 1

School
BASIS DC
DCI
E.L. Haynes
HU(MS)2
Imagine HOPE
Meridian
Children’s Guild
Statesmen

Match Points
2
2
1
1
1
0.5
0
0