Friday Relay Race Showdown: by Jacob Rabinowitz
This week on Friday we had a relay race in which team captains Jacob, Rowan, Luke, Igor and Dexter all tried to lead their teams to victory in a competitive matchup. Some of the activities consisted of running, ball dribbling, jumping the farthest and Over and Under. It was a close matchup that ultimately ended in Dexter’s team winning. At the end of the day the team was awarded with prizes because of their victory. Overall, everyone had a blast and we’re excited to have another relay race again next week!
The second Mind Games Tournament was no less controversial than the first! Though the matches got off to a slow start, in a surprise upset, Trary was knocked out of the tournament by Luke, an up and coming talent, in a score of 0-3. By Thursday night, only one other result was decisive: Brent getting knocked out by Jayden. With over half the bracket incomplete one day before the end of the tournament, the directors of the tournament were in a massive time crunch. They brainstormed a solution to stage the Semifinals and Finals to occur on Friday: the four semifinalists would play a group game of 4chess, with the two winners advancing to one game of Lionheart to determine the champion!
Luke and Max faced off Jayden and Evan in the Semifinal game of 4chess. Suddenly, Max had to leave. The tournament was in crisis. In a surprise turnaround, Luke accepted Trary as his 4chess partner to continue the match. They were victorious, which led to the Final game of Lionheart. Trary went from being knocked out of the tournament in the first stage to playing in the Finals against the player that beat him 3-0!
The Lionheart game started off with Luke gaining an early lead. He had positioned his knights on the flank where they decimated Trary's troops and infiltrated the back rank. Luke had the opportunity to advance his knight and play for the game (with a 69% chance of victory)! Instead, he turned around and retreated his knight. Meanwhile, Trary was attacking on the other side of the board: he advanced his archers and coldly moved his heavy infantry right up against Luke's king, sealing off all escape. Finally, he attacked with three archers and won the game (only 26% chance)! The directors were in shock! How was this upset even possible!? A final rapid game of chess was played between Trary and Luke (to give Luke a shot at redemption), but Trary won that as well!
The award ceremony was heralded with triumphant orchestral music to a roaring crowd of students, coaches, and parents. Coach Gary gave an inspiring speech about how Trary "came back from the brink of defeat" to prove that he truly "has the Heart of a Lion!" Trophies were awarded to Trary (1st), Luke (2nd), and Evan (3rd). We thank all the participants, congratulate the winners, and look forward to next week's tournament. We have no doubt that it will be as exciting as this one!
This weeks blitz-bughouse tournament was so fun! I had the pleasure of participating in the tournament this week due to an odd amount of players and I really enjoyed it. Alternating between two different strategies was a difficult challenge to navigate. In the end me and my teammate Jacob won the tournament with 4.5/5 points. Teammates Evan and Brent went home with a second place finish. Congrats to all the participants.
Controversy in 2nd Mind Games Tournament! by Yaakov Adatto
Blitz-Bughouse Tournament: Seth Gluck
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