Back in the 1970s Studio 54 was THE New York nightclub to visit. Anyone who was trendy and popular and influential was seen there. Guests included author Truman Capote, artist Andy Warhol, wife of the Canadian prime minister Margaret Trudeau, and a host of other notables. The line at the door was filled with famous people… and the club was so trendy their celebrity did not guarantee them admission. On one occasion Studio 54 famously refused to admit Cher. Another time they wouldn’t admit actor Don Johnson. Songwriter Nile Rodgers wrote dance hit “Le Freak” about the time he was turned away from Grace Jones’ New Years Eve party at the club.
Teaneck Chess Camp isn’t exactly Studio 54, but business is booming with a proverbial line at the door. For several weeks we’ve been filled to capacity, and regretfully have been turning potential campers away. Moral of the story: if you want your child to attend chess camp, register early. Sometimes we’re able to admit campers at the last minute, but not always. ICA have an excellent reputation, and our camps are routinely filled because of it.
Coach Slava welcomed this week’s campers with his traditional motivational speech during which he explained expectations for campers. From there we proceeded to lessons. As you’d expect from a chess academy, students are strongly encouraged to take the lessons seriously, both because it improves their skills as players, and because prizes are awarded at the end of the week to each coach’s best student (as defined by participation, learning, and behavior). This week’s coach awards went to Omer Barkay and Reece Goyle (Coach Andrew), Jayden Kim (Coach Anna), Grace Chen (Coach Gary), Maximus Sherman (Coach Ivette), Kayla Shah (Coach Isaac), and Yujeong Yeo (Coach Slava).
On every other morning with good weather, we begin the day by walking to the park to play Circle of Doom, a dodgeball variant. Later each morning we spend an hour in the park playing organized sports such as soccer, relay races, or a more traditional form of dodgeball. Each coach works with a different age-level of player, from whom a sports award is awarded to the most active and enthusiastic participant. This week the awards went to Rishabh Shiram, Kayla Shah, Maximus Sherman, Judah Barzideh, and Yujeong Yeo.
Arguably our most prestigious sports award is our weekly dodgeball award, a combination award for Circle of Doom and Dodgeball. This week’s winner was Yujeong Yeo, who wowed coaches and players alike with his constant agility. Our relay races were won by “The Chimps”. The winning team members were Elisha Ben-David, Jonathan Bang, Michael Bang, Benny Kohn, Ben Tamir, and Ariel Barkay.
On the tournament front, this week we split the camp into five groups. Our top group was joined by Coach Gary in a special round-robin challenge. Yujeong Yeo and Coach Gary tied with 2 points each, but since Gary is on staff the win goes to Yujeong. On Thursday the group played a Fischer Chess blitz tournament (the order of the back rank pieces is randomized). Yujeong won this as well.
Our second highest group (won by Ben Tamir) also played a Fischer Blitz tournament on Thursday. Michael Chang won this event with a perfect six wins. Our next two groups were won by Yehuda Zauderer and Judah Barzideh, and our beginner group resulted in a tie between Charlotte Peng and Kayla Shah.
On Thursday Coach Alan also ran a small competition in which he played several players in simultaneous games. He won them all, but Yehuda Zauderer won the award for surviving the longest against him (63 moves).
We also presented a number of additional awards. This week’s art award went to Grace Chen. Our Friday blitz and bughouse tournament was divided into two sections: advanced and basic. The basic section was one by Elisha Ben-David & Jayden Kim. The advanced section featured a team in which Yujeong Yeo had to play both boards at once with a time penalty on both. He still pulled off the win.
For those kids with late pickup, Coach Gary ran a Stratego tournament won by Yujeong Yeo. Gary also ran a backgammon tournament won by Rishabh Shriram.
All in all, another successful week here at ICA Chess Camp in Teaneck. We look forward to seeing both new and returning faces next week.
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