Record-Breaking Field at Unrated Beginner Tourney

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A new record was set as 67 kids participated in the Unrated Kids Beginner Tournament, held at the Chess Club on February 24. A total of 37 kids participated in the Kindergaten-3rd grade section. CCSCSL instructor Ben Conover's student, Robert Mize, was the highest-rated participant in the field. Robert has gained more than 150 points since working with Conover, and his rating now stands at 517. Ben Simon's student, Callan Sukanek, along with CCSCSL student Zeve Burton and Lauren Vitale, all came into the event with USCF ratings higher than 300.

In the first round, Lauren announced her presence by crushing her opponent, Arjun Puri, in just six moves. Although Arjun is still just in pre-school, he has been gaining valuable experience in these beginner tourneys and rebounded with a nice win in round 2. CCSCSL instructor Brian Jerauld's son, Sam, squeaked out his second consecutive stalemate in a dead-lost position to split the point with his opponent.

Going into round 3, Lauren, Robert, Callan and Zeve were all 2-0. Conover's student, Robert, has been taking additional one-on-one lessons, and he used that extra experience to score a victory over Callan. Zeve has been regularly attending the free classes offered at the club each week, and his hard work also paid off as he was victorious against former Kids Beginner Champion Luke Conran. Gabe Kurfman put a blemish on Lauren's perfect score by scoring an upset victory. Sam was down by a lot of material and a stalemate did not look possible as he had three pawns that were mobile, but he wisely gave away his pawns, got his king to the edge of the board and managed a third consecutive stalemate!

In round 4, Robert triumphed over new club member Isabel Yearian while Gabe scored his second consecutive upset by knocking off Zeve. Both received an annual membership to the Chess Club. As for Sam, he decided to show his last round opponent how it's done by implementing the checkmate. His win and three stalemates got him a winning record good for 10th place in the event.

In the 4th-grade-and-up section, 30 players vied for the title and a free membership to either the club or the U.S. Chess Federation. CCSCSL Instructor Mike Kummer's student at the Youth Learning Center, Roy Saffold, was looking to break through after coming so close to the championship in previous months. Also looking for her first tourney win was CCSCSL member Cindy Zhou. She is rated 451 and has been playing games against some of the much stronger players at the club. Cindy has a great attitude and learns from her losses. In round 1, both Roy and Cindy were victorious. In round 2, CCSCSL Kids Beginner Class regular, Evan Holden, managed to figure out how to mate a lone king with just his rook and king.

Impressive. In round 3, Cindy and Roy held their own to advance to 3-0. In all, four players were 3-0 heading into the fourth and final round, but Cindy and Roy managed to dodge each other in the pairings, and both prevailed to secure a tie for first place. Roy got a free membership to the Club while Cindy chose a Chess Club T-shirt. She plans to wear her prize at upcoming tournaments.

SwissSys Standings. Kids Beginner Tournament: K-3

SwissSys Standings. Kids Beginner Tournament: 4th+