Contact: Peter Hopkins
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Two hundred seventy two players gathered at Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond on Saturday, January 13, to play in the sixth annual Governor's School Chess Tournament. The number of participants created the largest non-championship, USCF-rated scholastic chess tournament ever held in Virginia. Only the state individual scholastic chess championships have drawn a larger field.
Players were divided into six sections, including a fund-raiser section open to any USCF member. In the scholastic sections, there were 46 in the K-3 or Primary section, 83 in the K-5 or Elementary Schools section, 64 in the K-8 or Middle Schools section and 73 in the K-12 or High Schools section. Thirty seven teams, some from as far away as West Virginia, were represented by two or more players.
The open section was won by Ray Fletcher who coaches the Ecoff Elementary School chess team and whose two sons, Nathaniel and Ian are regular participants in VSCA tournaments. Runner up in the section was Mark Butler who coaches the Larkspur Middle School chess team in Virginia Beach and whose son Charles is also a participant in VSCA events.
In the K-12 section, the team from the Governor�s School for Science and Technology in Alexandria battled Fredericksburg�s Chancellor High School to a tie with 16.5 points. �Sci Tek� was awarded the first place trophy on tie breaks. Third place saw another tie, this time between Henrico County�s Mills Godwin High School and Richmond�s Governor�s School for Government and International Studies (GSGIS). Godwin, fielding a team for the first time in recent memory, was awarded the third place trophy on tie breaks. First place individual honors went to Chancellor�s Philip Shing who was undefeated in all five rounds. Sci Tek�s Rocco Repetski and Ettie Nikolova from Chesapeake�s Indian River Middle School tied for second with 4.5 each with Rocco claiming second place on tie breaks. No less than eleven players scored 4.0 to tie for fourth place. The 4th and 5th place trophies went to Benedictine�s Tim Tran and Indian River�s Illinna Nikolova. All others who scored 4 points received medals.
Benjamin Franklin Middle School from Rocky Mount was the clear winner of the K-8 section followed by Newport News� Crittenden Middle School in second and Chesterfield County�s Swift Creek Middle School third. Swift Creek�s William J. �Jack� Barrow was individual winner with an undefeated 5.0 score followed by Franklin�s Malcolm Scott. There was a 4 point crunch for third through tenth place. Franklin�s Ryan Fitzgerald, James Habboush from Henrico County�s G. H. Moody Middle School and Dan Schudel from Prince George County�s N. B. Clements Middle School were awarded trophies. Medals were awarded from 6th to 10th place.
With 11 teams and 9 unattached players, the K-5 section was largest in the tournament. Deer Park Alternative School from Newport News was clear first with 17 points. Chesterfield�s Swift Creek Elementary edged out Henrico County�s Lakeside Elementary by one half point to claim the second place trophy. Deer Parks� Patrick O�Connell was individual winner with five wins. Lakeside�s Dylan Kolhoff and Swift Creek�s Nathan Kendler played each other to a draw in the fifth round, and ended in a tie for second place. Dylan won the 2nd place trophy on tie breaks. Once again there was a 4 point crunch, this time 4th through 14th. Swift Creek�s Erik Golden was awarded the 4th place trophy and the 5th place trophy went to Josh Simmons from Smoot Elementary School in West Virginia. 6th through 14th place recieved medals.
While the K-3 section was smallest with only six teams, the battle for first place team honors was hotly contested. Only 1 match point separated the top three teams as Deer Park scored 14.5 to emerge in first place followed by Swift Creek with 14. 0 and Richmond Montessori with 13.5. First place individual ended in a tie between Montessori teammates Logan Webb and Sam Scannell. Logan picked up the first place trophy with a 1 point margin on tie breaks. In a four way tie for third place were Connor Kauffman, Swift Creek, Lee Beauchamp, Collegiate, Joe Atkinson from Luray�s Hope Checkmates, and Alan Hancock from Deer Park. Connor, Lee and Joe landed trophies and Alan was awarded a medal.
The tournament was hosted by the GSGIS Chess Club and conducted by the Virginia Scholastic Chess Association. Dominion Scholastic Chess Supply donated a magnetic chess set which was raffled off to benefit the VSCA. As always, a cadre of dedicated coaches and VSCA parents gave another Saturday to provide a fun filled day in a safe environment. Membership in the VSCA, a non-profit charitable organization, is $5 per year. Applications for membership and tax deductible donations can be sent to Box 8314,. Richmond, Virginia, 23226.