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Scholars Return Victorious from the Super Bowl of Chess

One hundred and six students from 14 Success Academy schools traveled to Nashville this past weekend, joining thousands of players from across the country to duke it out in what is considered the Super Bowl of scholastic chess: the National Elementary School Championships. Our scholars returned home loaded down with trophies: four players finished in the top 10 in their divisions; five teams — two from SA Hudson Yards, two from SA Bed-Stuy, and one from SA Washington Heights — finished among the top five in their divisions.

“Our scholars found the right balance between having fun and staying focused and competitive, and it was a treat to see how they put their all into the games,” said Sean O’Hanlon, SA’s senior manager of chess. “The competition is tough, and I’m incredibly proud of the grit and talent they displayed.”

brewington_hardaway

SA Hell’s Kitchen third-grader Brewington Hardaway came in 8th in the K3 Championship division.

Some Success players were returning to Nashville for the third or fourth time. Others were making their inaugural journey, including the players from SA Washington Heights who were thrilled with their third place win.

“They are not used to playing three-hour games, so they were nervous at first,” said SA Washington Heights coach Liam Murphy. “But I told them, ‘Be patient, steal those free pieces, and opportunity will come.’ They slowed down, they focused, and they played an amazing tournament.”

sawh_trophy

SA Washington Heights won a third-place trophy in the K3 U1000 Division.

Congratulations to all our chess players, and to the coaches who make it all possible!

K-6 Championship

TEAM RESULTS (Out of 14 teams)
Hudson Yards — 5th place
Midtown West — tied for 6th place
Bronx 1 MS — 10th place
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1200-1299 Class:
Darren Palmer (Bronx 1 MS), 2nd place
Alex Martinez (Bronx 1 MS), 3rd place
1000-1099 Class:
Eleazar Pelaez Ortega (Bronx 1 MS), 3rd place

K-5 Championship

TEAM RESULTS (out of 19 teams)
Union Square — tied for 7th place
Hell’s Kitchen — 14th place

K-3 Championship

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (out of 179 entries)
Brewington Hardaway (Hell’s Kitchen), 8th place

K-6 Under 1400

TEAM RESULTS (out of 19 teams)
Hudson Yards — 2nd place
Bed Stuy — tied for 5th place
Midtown West — 13th place
INDIVIDUAL (out of 138 entries)
Emily Booncharoen (Hudson Yards), 15th place
Jaden Diaz (Hudson Yards), 19th place

K-6 Under 1000

TEAM RESULTS (out of 29 teams)
Bronx 1 MS — 7th place
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (out of 207 entries)
Sameer Sherif (Harlem 3), 18th place
Angelina Nguyen (Bronx 1 MS), 39th place

K-5 Under 1200

TEAM RESULTS (out of 31 teams)
Hudson Yards — 7th place
Bensonhurst — 8th place
Bed-Stuy — 9th place
Union Square — 10th place
Harlem East — 11th place
Myrtle — 12th place
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (out of 177 entries)
Gabriel Espinal (Harlem East), 3rd place
Naveen Paruchuri (Union Square), 7th place
Maya Mukherji (Hudson Yards), 12th place

K-5 Under 900

TEAM RESULTS (out of 60 teams)
Bed Stuy — tied for 5th
Union Square — tied for 8th

K-3 Under 1000

TEAM RESULTS (out of 22 teams)
Washington Heights — 3rd place
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (out of 154 entries)
Dante Lorenzo (Washington Heights), 10th place

K-3 Under 700

TEAM RESULTS (out of 54 teams)
Bensonhurst — 13th place

Written by Success Academy May 17, 2018

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