According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the record for the most people crammed into a single Volkswagen Beetle is 57. I’ve seen the photo -- it doesn’t look like they were very comfortable.
On Sunday the universe decided to see how many players we could cram into Do-Re-Mi for our chess tournament. We didn’t intend to do so. The registrations kept coming in beyond anything we’ve ever hosted there before. We eventually closed registration, and people began calling to ask if we could fit “just one more” into the event.
So we talked to Do-Re-Mi to determine the theoretical maximum number of boards we could fit. The answer we came up with was 22, or 44 players. To fit two more we’d have to give up the table from which we run the event. I’m not sure what we’d do at that point. Sit on the floor? Stand while running the computer on top of the piano?
Fortunately the universe had mercy on us and we had only 42 people. (Actually 43, but one didn’t show up.) It was a tight fit. There were players everywhere and no room at all for parents. It required three tournament directors to run the event. But y’know what? It was a ton of fun. More people means more opportunity for interaction. And yes, a bit more chaos, but also more opportunities to get to know one’s peers.
This was also the first tournament with our new structure for the groups. The new system worked out well.
Our beginner section had seven players, all unrated or with very low ratings.
The odd number meant someone had a bye each round. Fortunately the Under 600 rated section had a bye as well so I could match the extra players together in a friendly game. We didn’t record the results since they didn’t count for prize purposes (byes always count as a win), but I know at least one K-4 student brought honor to their section with an upset win over their more highly rated opponent.
The section had a lot of great chess (for their skill level) with players intensely looking at the board for the best possible move before impatience won out and they made the first move that caught their eye. There was one notable moment when two boys disagreed over the location of a queen. If the queen was on one square then the opponent’s queen was safe. If it was on the other square then the opponent’s queen could be safely taken. The two passionately but amicably debated the issue. Absent scoresheets to determine the correct location and unable to negotiate any sort of agreement, I was forced to declare the game a draw. The two boys surprised me by enthusiastically agreeing with the result. Kids are funny sometimes.
The section was won by young Raghav Sambasivan, one of the friendliest little pipsqueaks you’ll ever meet. I’ve worked with Raghav before elsewhere, and he’s always a pleasure to play across the board. For that matter, all six other players were friendly as well: Satyaki, Bryce, Ryan, Teddy, Rishi, and Anirvinn.
Kudos goes to Satyaki Poddar for her second place finish, and for Bryce Chen for finishing in third.
When the round ended, I couldn’t resist sitting on the floor and presenting the awards to them on their level. Kids like these are why I enjoy running tournaments so much.
At 17 players this was our biggest section of the tournament. They filled the bulk of the main playing area, and had a never ending series of questions for the tournament staff.
“When do I play my next game?” “Where do I play my next game?” “If I lost my second game can I still win a trophy?” “Are you a grandmaster?” “What is your rating?” “What is my rating?” “If I win one game and lose one game, does my rating go up or down”? “I got a draw. Is that good or bad?” “Who will my next opponent be?” etc. etc. etc. The questions are constant and ongoing.
I enjoy working with such players because they have such a passion and enthusiasm for the game. They may not be very good at it yet -- they are still learning after all, but they want to get better. Coaches can teach rules, strategy, and tactics, but they cannot teach passion. Kids have to find that for themselves, whether it be chess or any other activity.
The top three awards for this section went to Viren Jain in third place, Adthyuth Chandrasekar in second place, and Michael Nesser in first place.
This section featured 12 kids in one of the side rooms. They were a bit older and more mature than the U600 section on average, which meant they were able to resolve their own issues for the most part. There were occasional issues, such as a spectator who was making noise. And occasional silliness, such as a boy who placed his jacket on the floor, sat on it, and proceeded to “mop” the floor until I stopped his fun. They were at that cusp of maturity where they can more or less manage themselves, but still need a fair bit of supervision..
To understand more about the chess in this room you’d have to ask the kids rather than myself, as they’re skill has past mine. I’m a tournament director, not a player.
But I can tell you that the section awards went to Shaurya Mehta (3rd place), Anvesha Gopal (2nd place), and Ayush Saxena (1st place).
I won’t even try to analyze the games of those players in our highest section. But I will tell you that they were an amazing bunch. Aside from the fact that their entire section ran smoothly and without incident, they genuinely enjoyed themselves at the event.
The winners of this section were Ruben Quintans in third place, Dylan Rosa in second place, and Andrew Goldfarb in first place.
Congrats to everyone who attended the tournament and put up with the chaos that went with such a well-attended event. We at ICA are currently discussing how best to go forward with this event in terms of size and staffing to make sure we provide the best chess experience possible.
--Stephen Lorimor
K-4 Unrated
Under 600
Under 1000
Under 1400
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