High School
DC Denker and Barber Qualifiers This Saturday
The Denker Tournament of High School Champions is an annual invitational event for the champions of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Named for the late Grandmaster Arnold Denker, a former U.S. Champion and a tireless promoter of chess among young people, the tournament has been one of the most prestigious national events for students in grades 9-12 since its inception 38 years ago.
The Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School Champions, now in its 12th year, is the corresponding annual event for students in grades 6-8. This year both the Denker and Barber tournaments will be held in the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, California, from July 30 – August 2. This coming Saturday, April 2, Washington, DC will hold its qualification tournaments to determine who will represent the District in these events.
The qualifiers will be held at the DC Housing Finance Agency at 815 Florida Ave., NW., Washington DC 20001. The event is open to DC residents only, and is nationally rated by the U.S. Chess Federation, so participants must join the USCF if they are not already members. Proof of COVID vaccination is required to participate.
The entry fee is $20. This is a four-round Swiss system tournament with time control: Game/25 + 10. Players should bring clocks if they have them. The first round starts at 1 P.M.
Online registration is available at: https://dcscholasticchess.org/tournaments (scroll midway down the page).
Metro Area Chess League 2021-22: Round 2 Results
Tuesday evening was Round 2 of the Metro Area Chess League. Students from 22 high school teams from the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Maryland showed up on lichess to compete.
In a closely matched field, Montgomery Blair High School (Silver Spring, MD) and South Lakes High School (Reston, VA) are the only schools to win both of their matches so far and sit atop the standings with 2 match points each. Last night Montgomery Blair swept all four boards for the second round in a row and so holds the board points tiebreaker with 8 points out of a possible 8, with South Lakes in second with 6. Just behind them, Georgetown Preparatory School (North Bethesda, MD) leads a group of six schools tied with 1.5 match points.
Round 2 Results & League Standings
Place | School | Round 2 Board Points | Round 2 Match Points | Total Board Points | Total Match Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Montgomery Blair High School | 4 | 1 | 8 | 2 |
2nd | South Lakes High School | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
3rd | Georgetown Preparatory School | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1.5 |
4th (Tie) | Gonzaga College High School | 2 | .5 | 5 | 1.5 |
4th (Tie) | Thomas S. Wootton High School | 2 | .5 | 5 | 1.5 |
4th (Tie) | Richard Montgomery High School | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1.5 |
4th (Tie) | Woodrow Wilson High School | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1.5 |
8th | BASIS DC | 2.5 | 1 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
9th (Tie) | Justice High School | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
9th (Tie) | McLean High School | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
11th (Tie) | James Hubert Blake High School | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
11th (Tie) | Rockville High School | 2 | .5 | 4 | 1 |
11th (Tie) | St. Anselm's Abbey School | 2 | .5 | 4 | 1 |
11th (Tie) | Col. Zadok Magruder High School | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
15th (Tie) | Rochambeau, the French International School | 0 | 0 | 2 | .5 |
15th (Tie) | West Springfield High School | 0 | 0 | 2 | .5 |
15th (Tie) | St. Albans School | 2 | .5 | 2 | .5 |
15th (Tie) | Washington International School | 2 | .5 | 2 | .5 |
19th | The SEED Public Charter School | 1.5 | 0 | 1.5 | 0 |
20th (Tie) | Northwest High School | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
20th (Tie) | Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
20th (Tie) | E.L. Haynes Public Charter School | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Teams are ranked by Match Points, then by Board Points.
Round 2 Highlights



Round 3 Pairings
Round 3 will be held on January 11, 2022 at 7:15pm ET (7:30 games start)
with matches played on https://lichess.org.
Rockville High School vs. Montgomery Blair High School
South Lakes High School vs. McLean High School
BASIS DC vs. Georgetown Preparatory School
Richard Montgomery High School vs. Justice High School
Thomas S. Wootton High School vs. Gonzaga College High School
Rochambeau, the French International School vs. Washington International School
Col. Zadok Magruder High School vs. Woodrow Wilson High School
James Hubert Blake High School vs. St. Anselm’s Abbey School
St. Albans School vs. West Springfield High School
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School vs. Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School
Northwest High School vs. The SEED Public Charter School