This past Sunday, 3/21, we welcomed 38 eager competitors to ICA’s bi-weekly qualification tournament! As the turnout implies, the event was a success with 24 kids playing in the booster section and 14 in the advancement section. Congratulations to Michael K, Dhurv, Leo, Vihaan, Michael L, Oliver, Ryan, Rebecca, Anna for earning 2.5+ points in the booster section, thereby qualifying for the advancement section.

Despite the virtual format, the competitiveness of the event was still felt by all. The kids played through sharp and exciting positions from the comfort of their own homes while parents had the opportunity to follow the action without distracting the players. Through the tournament’s four rounds, we saw some miraculous comeback wins, clever tactics, and a fair amount of backrank, ladder, and scholar’s mates. Special congratulations go to Michael Karcher and Daniel Yan for winning all four games of their games and taking home 1st place in the booster and advancement sections, respectively. 

One benefit of having the tournament online is that all the games were automatically recorded and saved. We encourage all players to go back and look at their games so they can learn from their mistakes (or relish in their brilliance). Hopefully, soon, we’ll be able to start hosting tournaments in person again, bringing back the social aspects of playing chess. But until that day, we hope that everyone is enjoying the virtual tournaments and is looking forward to playing in the next one!