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Eight Success Academy Chess Teams Place in Top 10 at National Chess Championship in Florida

Contact: Liz Baker, 646-902-4200 [email protected]

Eight Success Academy Chess Teams Place in Top 10 at National Chess Championship in Florida

Success Academy Chess Players at the National K-12 Grade Championships

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLSuccess Academy Hudson Yards Middle School’s fifth- and sixth-grade teams each took second place in the nation, beating out famed chess schools in their respective divisions including NEST+m, I.S. 318, the Dalton School, and Speyer Legacy School. For the first time, four teams from SA’s elementary program competed in this prestigious event. Eight Success Academy teams finished in the top 10 teams in their divisions at a tournament that attracts 1,700 of the nation’s top chess players in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. Nathaniel Mullodzhanov from SA Hudson Yards Middle School tied for second place in the fifth-grade championship, placing fourth on tie breakpoints. Ten teams from Success Academy schools competed in the U.S. Chess Federation National K-12 Grade Championships in Orlando, Florida over the weekend.

SA Hudson Yards Middle School chess team with coach Christopher Johnson

“The Hudson Yards teams had a remarkable performance, placing second in the nation in two divisions,” said Jerald Times, director of Success Academy’s Chess Program. “I am very proud of their performance.”

 SA Bed-Stuy Middle School’s seventh-grade team took fourth place; SA Midtown West Middle School’s eighth-grade team took third place; and SA Harlem East Middle School’s eighth-grade team finished in sixth place.

 Eight-year-old triplets Jacob, Daniel, and Nathan Bolkhovitinov from Success Academy Bensonhurst, took sixth place among the nation’s third-grade teams.

The Bolkhovitinov triplets, featured in a short film by Jenny Schweitzer Bell in The Atlantic. 

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ABOUT SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS

Founded in 2006, Success Academy Charter Schools are free public K-12 schools open to all children in the state through a random lottery. With 45 schools across Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, Success Academy enrolls 18,000 students, primarily children of color from low-income households in disadvantaged neighborhoods: 74% receive free or reduced-price lunch, 94% are students of color, 16% have disabilities, and 8% are English language learners. Success Academy schools received more than 17,700 applications for 3,288 open seats for the 2018-19 academic year.

For more information about Success Academy, go to Successacademies.org and virtualtour.successacademies.org.

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