ICA at the 2022 National K-12 Grade Championship
Between December 9 and December 11, 2022, over 15 ICA students traveled to National Harbor, Maryland to compete in the 2022 National K-12 Grade Championships. I am proud to announce that, after seven games, all of our players got at least 3.5 points: the 50% mark. Considering that, for most of our students, this was their first nationals, their first time playing Game 90, their first time staying in a hotel for a competition, and their first time playing three three-hour matches in one day (more on this later), I consider this a massive accomplishment!
The format of the tournament was as follows: two games Friday, three games Saturday, and two games Sunday. Many of our players finished the Friday session with either 1.5 or 2 points. However, the challenge ahead of them was almost insurmountable: three three hour games: one at 9 am, one at 1:30pm, and one at 6pm. Even the biggest of chess enthusiasts would think to get lots of rest before their trial by fire ...
Or so I thought; Andrew Cerami, thought it would be a good idea to stay up Friday night and analyze more chess games instead of resting up. Although I love the passion, sometimes, rest is more important. So at 9:30pm, I facetimed him to pressure him to put down the computer and sleep!
Speaking of the social aspect of a National Tournament, it was very important for players to stick together in between rounds.
Some of our players watched the World Cup in between rounds.
Others played blitz to keep fresh!
And others analyzed their games while walking back to the group HQ.
I believe that, by sticking together, the players were fresher for their rounds and, as a result, had better results! In addition, once some of the players grouped together, Myself, Diana, and TD Prashant were all able to Facetime thim.
Speaking of the results: our best performers were Sujia Diao, who finished with 6 points out of 7 to win third place in the Third Grade Section, and NM Alexander Wang, who finished with 6 points out of 7 to win third place in the Seventh Grade Section! It is also worth noting that Sujia went undefeated: she won five matches and drew two; congratulations!
In addition, Gillian Gao, student of Coach Igor Yeliseyev finished with 5 points out of 7 to claim third place for First Graders rated between 800 and 999; congratulations!
We had four other students finish with 5 points out of 7: Albert Li for Second Graders, Aiden Kennedy and Leqi Han for Fourth Graders, and Mark Kogan for Fifth Graders! In addition, Leqi’s school TAG young scholars finished in fourth place for his grade!
Left to right: Leon Shevelenko, Aiden Kennedy, Mark Kogan.
It has already been noted to Aiden that his performances would greatly improve if he was to wear a different shirt! After all, at the time of writing, Manchester City have never won the Champions League!
Another player who had an unbelievable tournament was Vihaan Jambudi. In the Fourth Grade Section, he played five games with players rated at least 400 points higher. In the end, he won two of those matches to bring his final total to 4 points out of 7. This is a massive accomplishment, congratulations!
In addition, Ethan Modi took 4.5/7 points from the 11th Grade Section. Although he told me that he is disappointed with his performance, it is worth noting that his dropped points came against higher rated players. This includes two National Masters! As a result, 4.5/7 points is a total to be proud of.
Finally, Andrew Cerami, Goktug Bas, Sean Ma, Leon Shevelenko, Ely and Alex Aminetzah, and Liam Shah all finished with 3.5/7 points. As, for most of the listed players, this is their first national tournament, they should all walk away feeling proud of what they achieved!
The next major tournament that the ICA will take part in is the Ametaur Team East! If you are interested in playing and already have some tournament experience, email chessdirector@icanj.net to get placed on a team!
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