Category: Scholastic
FINAL STANDINGS IN THE 2023 SPRING SCHOLASTIC SWISS
The 2023 Spring Scholastic Swiss was held on Saturday, May 13 in the Mayo Clinic Harwick Cafeteria. Forty-six players participated in two sections. Half of the students were playing in their-first ever chess tournament.
Congratulations to Joshua Wang and Ansh Singh for tying for first place with scores of 4-0 in the Novice section. Four players tied for second place with 3 points. Kellogg middle school took home the first place team trophy.
Fifth-grader Wilson Wang won the USCF-rated section with a perfect 4-0 score. Congratulations Wilson. Your chess future is bright! Six players tied for second – seventh places. Dakota middle school won the first place team trophy.
The cross tables below are listed in order of final score and then in alphabetical order (not tiebreak order). Players who have USCF ratings are listed in order of their rating. W = win (e.g. W17 = win against player number 17 in the final standings), L = loss, D = draw, nnnn = no USCF rating. The tournament has been rated by USCF: https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202305131892-16917452
Many thanks go out to the numerous volunteer parents and coaches who helped make this tournament possible: Coaches George Paulik, Master Thompson, Kevin Gaustad, Matt Markland, Chris Jones, Jacob Arroyo, Chuck Handlon, Justin Ricker, and to parents Megan and Walter Park, Darcy Reed, Michael Blocksome and others. Joshua Halverson of Community Education did a great job of promoting the event.
Please subscribe to Rochester Chess to receive periodic updates on chess activities in our community. The votes are in favor for holding another scholastic tournament in June. Stay tuned for details.
Rochester Mini-Chess Camp for Youth, March 18, 2023, 9 AM – Noon at Mayo Clinic Harwick Building Cafeteria
Lead instructors: Jacob Arroyo and Dennis Mays. This camp is intended for novice to intermediate scholastic players.
Approximate Camp Schedule
- 9 AM – 9:30 Tactics!
- 9:30 – 10:30 Intermediate participants will play one game (G/30 with notation). Coaches will help players analyze their games afterwards. Novice Participants will play 2 games (G/15)
- 10:30 – 11:15 Analysis of games with a chess coach
- 11:15 – 12:00 Opening tactics
Wrap-up
Tuition: $20 + $5 for each additional family member. Payable onsite. Advanced registration is required. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdILrtSg5tyWLBRtKlYcV04rMHRrGkIGJMyN-3hNri6KVtfA/viewform?usp=pp_url
Contact Dennis Mays for information about scholarships: dennismays101@gmail.com
Lourdes Defeats Century to Win RASCL City Cup Chess Tournament
Excerpts from Chuck Handlon, Secretary/Treasurer Rochester Area Scholastic Chess League (RASCL) February 20, 2023.
The 23rd annual Rochester Area Scholastic Chess League (RASCL) City Cup Tournament was held at Century HS (the 2022 City Cup Champions) on Saturday February 18th.
Century was the top seed in the tournament and played a semi-final match against fourth place Byron High School. Mayo HS finished second and was pitted against Lourdes High School.
Each team has five players ranked in order from # 1 board to # 5. The top seed plays white on boards # 1, 3 & 5. A win earns one point for the team and a draw results in each team receiving ½ points. Century defeated Byron 3 – 2 and advanced to the championship round while Lourdes passed Mayo to also advance. Lourdes then defeated Century 3 ½ to 1 ½ to reclaim the City Cup. Lourdes team members were Jacob Arroyo, (junior), Cole Hafner (senior), Jack Nelson (freshman), Asa Cape (8th grade), and Dylan Park (7th grade), on boards 1-5, respectively. Freshmen team members Joseph Bell and Luke Waldbillig were unable to compete. This was Lourdes eighth time as City Cup Champion. Lourdes has won the cup five out of the last eight years.
There was a concurrent Swiss Style Junior Varsity City Cup Tournament of four rounds with 26 players mainly in middle and high school, including a new team from the Rochester STEM Academy that is coached by Kevin Gaustad. The top six finishers from first to sixth were Sam Blocksome (4 points), David Atwell (3.5), Elijan Nhean – Prom (3.5), Andy Ott (3.0), Ryder Selnes (3.0) and Noah Stanslaski (3.0). Gianna Deick finished in 7th place with 2.5 points The John Marshall junior varsity team took first place with a team score (total of the top four players) of 12.0.
The RASCL Top Five Varsity players based on points attained from regular season games were awarded trophies. They are, in order from first to fifth, Jacob Arroyo (Lourdes), Jayan Jaychandran (Century), Ethan Zhang (Century), Nolan Schnaedter (Century) and Isaac Ahn (Mayo) tied with Jack Nelson (Lourdes).
The RASCL “All League Team” which has one player from each school nominated by the coach are Jayan Jaychandran (Century), Cole Hafner (Lourdes), Isaac Ahn (Mayo) and Cole Larson (Byron). Lourdes chess coach Dennis Mays was named the 2023 RASCL Coach of the Year.
Although the RASCL City Cup Tournament is the culmination of scholastic chess in Rochester, the Minnesota State Chess Association (MSCA) State K – 12 Championship Tournament will conclude the overall 2023 scholastic chess season. Many of the Rochester players will participate in the MSCA State Championship which will be held on the weekend March 4th and 5th at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. https://onlineregistration.cc/tournaments/index.php?txn=y9Dg4A==&view=zt7g2Q==&act=ven&tid=mqWnnQ==
For more information contact RASCL Secretary Chuck Handlon chuckwheelerhandlon@gmail.com