Scholastics / Spring Nationals
yet challenging tournament was expressed by many participants. Outside of the tour - na ment hall, Kristiina Liiv and her sister Karoliina Liiv, who both reside in Florida, were relaxing by practicing their cartwheels and tumbles. When asked about what attracted them to the tour nament, they shared that this tournament appealed to them because it reminded them of events that they’ve played at in Europe. Originally coming from Estonia, their mother ex plained that in Europe there are more tournaments specifically for girls, so they enjoy the All- Girls because it is more comfortable. This easy-going, yet serious space for
chess is one of the wonderful aspects of the KCF National All-Girls Championships, and among the benefits of this atmosphere is the fact that the tournament attracts a very diverse group of young competitors. In the skittles room, for example, one could walk around the tables and hear languages as different as Mandarin, Hindi, Russian, and French. With a multitude of players from such
Becca Lampman, who took the Under 18 Championship prize on tiebreaks over Jackie Peng, Alice Dong, and Anupama Rajendra.
KCF All Girls National Championship
For many girls, chess is a very serious
passion. Just one week after the National High School Championship concluded, some girls traveled to Chicago to partici - pate in the Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) All-Girls National Cham pi on ships. Situated at the well-known McCormick Place in downtown Chicago, there were 359 registered players spread over six sections and participating in six rounds, which made this year’s record-breaking tournament particularly stimulating. While some, like Emma Wing from the Catalina Foothills team in Tucson, Arizona, who played in both tournaments, said that she prefers the National High School Championship, others, like her teammate, Amber Fox, who also partic- ipated in both tourna ments, said that “I prefer the All-Girls tournament, because it is fun to play other girls.”
Despite the fact that the All-Girls does
not reach the relative size of the National High School Championship, it is the rarity of an all-girls tournament that attracts many players. For instance, Shvetali Thatte from Illinois explained that she has attended the All-Girls tournament for five consecutive years now. “One of the things that brings me back each year,” she said, “is the friendships that I have made with other girls from across the country who share my interest in chess.” Chess is a major part of her life, she explained, and when she is with other girls, “the impor - tance of the game is greater, because everyone is focused and taking the competition seriously.” Yet, Shvetali also pointed out that, as a result of her friend - ships, the All-Girls Championships are more relaxed as well. The idea that the All-Girls is an inviting,
differing backgrounds, their varied ap - proaches to chess on the board made for a tough competition. Distinguishing herself early, top-seeded Becca Lampman, from Vancouver, Washington, trounced her com - petition in the blitz tournament by winning all her games. Becca had never been at the All-Girls before, so after her victory, she shared that she found the tournament to be a lot of fun, and that she was very happy with her results. Ordinar ily, she explained, she plays in open tour naments, so one of the differences that she noticed was that “the All-Girls Championship has a friendlier atmosphere,” and that she did not “feel as isolated as a female participant.” Transitioning from blitz to the longer
time controls of the championship matches, Becca shared that she needed to “adjust her mindset to slow down.” On the boards, the struggle for victory did not make it easy for any of the top players. Halfway through the Under 18 Championship, Becca, along with Alice Dong from New Jersey and Jackie Peng from Ontario, Canada, each had perfect scores with three points. Becca achieved her third point by defeating the previous All-Girls Champi- onship winner, Anupama Rajendra, who was now a point behind the leaders. However, a series of draws on the top boards, where all three leaders drew their respective games, changed the dynamics and made for a very interesting final round. Alice Dong and Jackie Peng quickly drew their final game. As they each had the same score, this draw ensured that they would both be tied for first place. Yet, their draw gave Anupama and Becca a chance to catch up with them if they won their own respective games. Both Anupama and Becca had the black pieces, and, as they played, they were aware of how critical
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PHOTO: JORGE BARRERA
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