It’s a new month, which means we’re back in Livingston for yet another fun ICA tournament. We keep things interesting for the kids by alternating Quad and Swiss formats. This was a Swiss format event, and so we had four sections -- K-2 unrated, K-4 unrated, Under 800, and Under 1400. These events are always interesting with unpredictable moments, and today did not disappoint.
Our K-2 and K-4 sections are for beginning players. We split them up because some kids (usually the third and fourth graders) have a bit more “oomph” to their game. They’re more patient, they have better focus, their analytical skills are improved, and they handle their emotions better during the game.
These sections are usually well attended, but for whatever reason they were both quite small today with just two players each. Our solution was to merge the sections, as a four-player section forms a perfect round-robin tournament. And as a bonus, we bring the awards from both sections as well. Meaning every child in the combined K-2/4 section would win a trophy. Not a bad way to boost the morale of the beginning player.
Making the section even more interesting, two brothers - Michael and Daniel Khoroshevski - were both in the section. The two faced each other in their first game of the day. After resolving a brief brotherly squabble, the two played a surprisingly close game. For a while thought young Michael would pull off a win. Alas, in the end Daniel got the best of him. I have a feeling that if Michael stays in chess he may someday surpass his big brother. One of the nice things about being a tournament director? Someday I may be there when it happens.
The bigger two kids, Daniel and Raeya Nandyala, easily dispatched their younger counterparts with Daniel ultimately beating Raeya to clinch the 1st place K-4 trophy. Raeya happily left with the 2nd place K-4 award. The two younger players, Michaen and Sebstian Deenihan duked it out with Michael’s greater skill pulling off the win. Michael went home with the 1st place K-2 trophy, while Sebastian went home with the 2nd place award. All in all, four very happy players who are still getting the hang of chess tournaments.
Meanwhile in the U800 section, 22 kids duked it out for three trophies. When faced with this many players, we use a format called “accelerated pairings” in which players are more quickly paired up against similar ratings than normal. It’s done to decrease the number of perfect scores in a tournament by avoiding highly-lopsided games in the first round.
It worked like a charm. The numbers of draws went way up, and wins were more balanced across the player base instead of hoarded by the strongest players. Morale among the players seemed to be up as well. They had to work harder for their wins, and that’s a lot of what players want -- suitable challenges that help their ratings go up.
The end result surprised a lot of people. There was a whopping seven-way tie for third place won by Kabit Upadhyay with 2.0 points. Julia Domanski clinched second place with 2.5 points. And Max Liu took home the gold first place trophy with a perfect 3.0 points.
Our final section (U1400) was an epic match between six well-matched opponents. Technically it was seven, but the highest-rated player in the section didn’t show up. This saved us the problem of having a player with a bye, but also made the section even more competitive and unpredictable. Third place went to Art Bajraktari, who was the second-lowest rated player in the section.
This leads to a funny story. Player Aayush Saxena initially signed up for the Under 800 section. He was surprised to learn that his rating had increased to exactly 800. Since that’s not lower than 800, we required him to play up in the next section. As the lowest of six players, one would expect him to place sixth. But with two wins he clinched second place. (Let this be a lesson, folks. Sometimes being unexpectedly bumped up can lead to surprisingly good outcomes.)
First place was a bit less unpredictable, with Dylan Rosa (the highest rated player) earning 2.5 points. This landed him the gold trophy and a hearty congratulations for a tournament well played.
That congratulations can really be extended to all of the players there. It was a pleasure to serve all of the kids today. They played some great chess and had some learning moments along the way.
We look forward to seeing all of you again at our next Livingston event on January 7.
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