Oak Hall elementary teams brought home a trio of first place finishes and plenty of individual accolades following the United States Chess Federation’s K12 Grade National Chess Championships in Orlando from Dec. 15-17.
The Eagles won the national team trophies for kindergarten, first and third grades and earned top 10 finishes for second, fourth and fifth grades. The third-grade team also went undefeated to earn gold—the first undefeated record in event history.
Eagles’ Coach Tim Tusing has overseen the team for the past 26 years, earning 24 national titles.
“It takes a ‘village effort’ to produce this many winners,” Tusing said in a release. “We are very fortunate to have a group of coaches who are all willing to work together to make this happen!”
The championships included 2,400 students from across the country. Each student played seven games across three days, with games able to last more than three hours. The top three individual scores per school are added to make the team score.
Players earn one point for a win, half a point for a draw and zero points for a loss.
In third grade, Celine C. and Akash J. both had five wins and two draws. Out of a field of 271 students, the students finished in silver and bronze for the third-grade individual awards as well. James M. rounded out the Eagles team with 4 wins, three draws and 11th place individually.
James M. also managed to draw the top individual third grader, rated more than 600 points above him. The other top 10 schools, out of 30 in the event, were all from New York City.
The other Eagles third graders on the team were Addison B. (13th place), Asher A., Myka S., Aayan P., Wyatt J., Stella K. and Jack E.
For the first-grade section, the championships came down to the final round. But, a crucial win by Oak Hall pushed the team to 14 points and first place, defeating four New York teams who each had 13 points.
Oak Hall’s Mihai H. and Milan A. each earned five points for the team and earned individual 15th and 29th places, respectively. The other team members were Gary F., Daniel M., Grant F., Andrew P., Issac Z., Aiden K., Sawyer D. and Carter H.
The Eagles’ kindergarteners breathed easier, controlling first place throughout the championships. Leading the team with five points each were Suraj J., 5th place individual, and Hayden W., 11th place individual. Team members also included Olivia M., Harry M., Levi M., Amya R., Aahan P., Preston F., Luna F. and Santiago M.
The second-grade team earned 10th place with team members including Teddy M., Leighann H., Nora T., Emma Leah F., Catalina M., Mark W., Andy F. and Ayuna P.
For fourth grade, Sophie L. and Damian A. each won five points for the team, helping earn third place. Sophie L. finished in 8th individually and Damian A. finished 19th with other team members including Gabriel M., Julian M. , Ryder D., and Nicholas V.
With five points, Ishir K. led the 5th grade team to a 6th place finish. Meera J., Henry T. and Curtis H. also played for the team.
Besides Tusing, coaches Kevin Sevilla, Luis Salazar and National Master Britt Ryerson helped coach the players.