by Kareem Talhouni, Scholastic Manager
The CCSCSL scholastic tournament series headed to West County this past Saturday for our Mayhem in May event at Christian Brothers College High School. Ninety-five young contestants braved thunderstorms to battle it out on the chessboards. This attendance number is doubly impressive considering it was finals week for many area schools.
At the end of four rounds, in the K-6 section, only two players were left with perfect scores, having won every game. In the end, Winston Gao prevailed over Jenna Song due to tiebreaks. The K-12 section had its own share of drama as the crowd wondered if Rowan Riney would repeat his victory from our Spring Fever tournament in April. It was not meant to be, however, as he fell in the last round to the eventual section winner, Wilson Gao. The Gao brothers collected some nice additions to their trophy case at the awards ceremony.
The remaining top finishers were also called up to the podium to receive their hardware. In the K-6 section, Winston and Jenna were followed by Tyler He(3rd), Agastya Diwan (4th), and Callan Sukanek (5th). In the upper section, Wilson finished first on tiebreaks ahead of fellow-4-game winner, Cole Tatro (2nd), Isabel Yearian (3rd), Aaradhya Diwan (4th), and Rowan Riney (5th) rounding out the top five.
Other prize winners included the top female finisher for the K-12 section, Nikitha Ada. Nandhitha Anand was the top female finisher in the K-6 section with 3 points. Trophies were also awarded to the top unrated players Aadi Bhagat (K-12 section) and Malachi Sweeney (K-6 section), top player rated under 600 Nathanuel Ayers, and top Under 800 player Thomas Reilly.
In the team competition, some familiar names occupied the top spots. Oak Brook Elementary took home first place again in the K-6 section, just as they did at Spring Fever. In the K-12 section, Parkway West High School was edged out in the last round by Parkway Southwest Middle for the first place prize. For a full list of tournament results, click here.
Congratulations to all of the winners, and thank you to all the families that made this tournament possible. Our next tournament will be Summer Showdown, Sunday June 25th, at the Center for Global Citizenship at Saint Louis University (SLU). We hope to see you there!
Register online here.
Mayhem in May K-12 deciding game. White to move and win.
