Spiritridge chess teams finish in the top five at national tourney

Members of the Spritridge chess teams. - Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
Members of the Spritridge chess teams.

May 22, 2012 · Updated 3:39 PM 

 

Spiritridge Elementary School sent 13 of its best chess players, forming three teams, to the National Elementary Chess Championships held in Nashville, Tenn., from May 11-13. All three teams came back with top placements from the tournament

The K-3 Unrated team placed first, K-3 Championship team placed fifth, and the K-5 Championship team placed fourth.

The annual event, organized by the United States Chess Federation, brings together many of the best young chess players in the nation more than 2,000 K-6 students representing 646 teams from 40 different states.

National Team Members from Spiritridge Elementary are:

The K-3 Unrated team – Aidan Lawler (third grade), Alex Wei (third grade), Advaith Bulusu (third grade), Nandini Daga (third grade) and Eric Bogolyubov (kindergarten).

The K-5 Championship team – Derek Zhang (fourth grade), Zak Zhang (fourth grade), Terrance Li (fifth grade) and Ethan Bogolyubov (fifth grade).

The K-3 Championship team – Brian Chen (third grade), Neil Chowdhury (second grade), Jasper Chattra (third grade) and Richard Yang (third grade).

During the event, the players had to play seven matches in three days. Each game could last more than four hours.

The team coaches are Elliot Neff, Emil Anka, John Graves and Bert Rutgers.

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