Scholastics / Spring Nationals Indeed, the start of the tournament was
not very kind to him. During his first round against Vincent Baker from Ohio, Akshat detailed that he “started to make some extremely weird moves, and Vincent started to play really strong, and suddenly I found myself in a hopeless drawn rook endgame.” With only 20 seconds left on his clock, Akshat was basically left to play on the delay, while his opponent had a comfortable 20 minute time advan tage. In such a demanding situation, so many players would crumble under the pressure. Yet, Akshat found the right moves, and emerged victorious, which demonstrates what a tremendously skilled and talented chess player he is. Struggles such as these were not limited
to the K-12 Championship section, for the victory in the Under 1600 section was also hotly contested. Javier Bernal from New York City’s Chess in the Schools program made his successes on the board look easy however, and he achieved a perfect 7 score after all his games. Asked how he prepared for the tournament, he said that Chess in the Schools had a big impact on him. Chess in the Schools, which brought approxi- mately 100 students to the National High School Championship, is a non-profit organization which annually offers nearly 13,000 children in New York City’s public schools chess instruction, as well as college planning, academic support, and communi - ty service. Javier said that prior to the tournament he studied openings, while his coaches helped him with tactics and encouraged him to play at the Chess in the Schools weekend tournaments. Javier gives a lot of credit to the organi-
zation not only for his success on the board, but also as a growing individual. He said that he would not have been able to attend the National High School Championship without them, and, prior to joining the program, he felt that he was quieter and just talked to other people in his school. “Chess in the Schools changed my life” he explained. “I used to be a normal student, but here I have a connec - tion to people outside of my high school. I think it has helped me have a connection to my community.” At the National High School Champi-
onship, this influence was most visible, he said, when he finished his games. His coaches would review his moves and go
At A Glance ⁄2
over his positions with him, and he commented that he did not think that he would have had as much success without them because he would not have had so much support. However, Javier’s coaches and mentors suggest that he is being humble. Shaun Smith, Director of School Programs, said that “Javier worked very hard. He went over his games with the coaches, but the difference is that when he was done, he stayed nearby and listened to all his fellow students get their own games reviewed. He was almost always seen near a coach.” In the end, Javier’s triumph is his own, for he not only learned from his games, but he also put in the study time and hard work to prepare. Indeed, his story perfectly illustrates how
chess and community support can have a far-reaching impact. Throughout the tour - nament in Columbus, for example, many of the players had quiet cheerleaders watching over them from the balcony. Parents, grandparents, friends, and coach - es all gathered above and watched with intense concentration upon their players. Among these spectators, the family of Ben Johnson from St. Joseph, Missouri, was watching him as he earned his fifth win in round five in the Under 800 section. They explained that a majority of the team from St. Joseph are homeschooled, so chess, in fact, is a very important element in their life, because it allows them to make friends and learn teamwork. Every week the St. Joseph team gathers for a chess class, but in order to finance their travel and team gear, the team has had to pull together and fundraise in their community. Moreover, their families have also made
their own sacrifices to see them get to the National High School Championship. Some families flew into Columbus, but others made the long 10 hour drive each way from Missouri to Ohio. Touchingly, Jeff Bird, their coach, demonstrated his own determination when he passed up his in- person interview with the St. Joseph Board of Education, because it coincided with the tournament. When asked why he would pass up something so important to his career, he replied that, “I did it because I had made a commitment to the team.” As the story of the St. Joseph team
demonstrates, there is often much more to scholastic chess, in that there are many unsung heroes and untold personal victo -
ries. Among those who didn’t necessarily make the big headlines, but certainly achieved good results are Maggie Feng, Jessica Regam, and Emma Cheng. Maggie Feng participated in the K-12 Champi- onship section, and she is one of the highest scoring girls in recent years. She earned a +2 score, tying for tenth place out of 472 contestants. Currently, she has qualified for the 2015 World Youth Chess Championships, which will be held in Halkidiki, Greece. Not far behind Maggie, Jessica Regam earned a respectable 5 points in the K-12 Champi- onship section, while in the Under 1600 section, Emma Cheng tied for second place with seven others, after Javier Bernal.
For more about Akshat’s journey towards becoming a grandmaster, read his blog, “Quest to Chess Grandmaster” at:
www.questtogm.com.
See photo of the National K-12 Team Champions, Monta Vista High School, on p. 29.
I.S. 318 at the NJH and points in between
Not only did I.S. 318, the school featured in the documentary Brooklyn Castle, win the National Junior High Team K-9 Champi- onship this year, they’re seemingly winning everything in sight in their age group:
K-6 National Championship (tied with Mission San Jose Elementary)
New York State Championship New York City Championship
Kasparov Chess Foundation Girls Championship 7th Grade Nationals 8th Grade Nationals
The New York City Mayor's Cup (defeating all the best high schools in New York City)
2015 National High School (K-12) Championship
Date: April 10-12, 2015 | Location: Hyatt Regency Columbus, Columbus, Ohio | 1,492 players | Top Finishers: K-12 Championship, 1st, 61
: Akshat Chandra; 2nd-9th, 6: Cameron Wheeler, Arthur Shen, Ben Li, Edward Song, Jeevan Karamsetty, Zhaozhi Li, Kapil
Chandran, Nicky Korba; K-12 Team Championship, 1st, 22: Monta Vista High School (CA); 2nd, 20: Thomas Jefferson HS (VA); 3rd, 19: Westwood (TX) | Chief Tournament Director: Wayne D. Clark.
24 July 2015 | Chess Life
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