ICA SCHOLASTIC SUMMER CAMP WEEK 9 REPORT-FAIR LAWN

ICA SCHOLASTIC SUMMER CAMP WEEK 9 REPORT-FAIR LAWN

 

The last week of the summer camp didn’t disappoint us with particularly bad weather-only once throughout was it necessary to cancel sports activities because of the rain.  However, as it is already well known for such a case there is always a great substitute in the form of blitz tournaments which were held in five sections on rainy day Thursday.  In the Master Camp there were no upsets as David Rubenfeld won without any particular effort.  In Tanya’s group however, Nick Konovalenko won unexpectedly after a tie-break win against Josh Lerman.  Kolya (i.e. Nick) was very focused and serious this week, so his victory was not at all surprising. In third place was our guest from France Dimitri.  In Diana’s section, first place was captured by Daniel Khaitov, who was able to overtake Nick’s sister Sasha, who finished with the silver medal, while Eric Trostin took third.  In Max Yelsky’s section Maurice won.  In Arjun’s section the first finisher was Rohan, while Mathew Lerman took second, and Maria third. 

Of course while that is all good and well its better to leave time for action, and only an hour for fun.  Therefore, lets crossover to the more traditional, and solid disciplines of our chess program.  The tournaments at classical time controls were held in five sections.  In section one it was all business as usual with David Rubenfeld as the victor.  In section two, the last round game between Josh Lerman and Anthony Gurunian proved decisive, as Josh won the game and thereby the section, leaving Anthony in second place.  Nick Konovalenko finished in third place.  In section three, like in blitz, the winner was Daniel Khaitov.  In section four, Eric Trostin finally proved his abilities and won first.  Here is to hoping he can continue to find the balance between logical, focused concentration, and fast movement with his hands.  Aron Dyadyuk finished second, while Vidur ended up third.  A most convincing victory in section five was attributed to Andrew S, with Maurice second, and Rohan third.   

The best students in each group were: based on the days, and number of hours Ahron S, who confidently overtook his older comrades in Sergey’s group.  In Tanya’s group Josh Lerman won, thereby cementing his record of winning best student in every category for the past nine weeks!  Daniel Khaitov was the best student in Diana’s group, Aron D in Max Schwartz’s group, Tyler in Richard’s group, Andrew S in Max Yelsky’s group, and Michael D in Arjun’s group.

Surviving in a simul was best handled by Israel Moshe who best notated his longest game, and thereby won the simul prize as well as the one for best notation.  Israel Moshe also won the U800 prize for problem solving.  However, the best problem solver in the camp was Phillip Blumin who worked harder then everyone else to achieve said honor.  Slightly behind him was Alessandro who also worked really hard at the problem solving events, which allowed him to claim the u1200 prize in that nomination.  The unrated problem solving winner was Mathew Lerman.

In the team championships the winning team was led by Nick Konovalenko, and included teammates Eric Trostin, Bhupinder, and Henry.

Like last week the most responsible homework solving was done by Bhupinder who thereby won the homework prize.  His efforts in said category also earned him the best effort prize.  Joining him in said distinction was Reid who also earned recognition for being most considerate of other campers.

After multiple-requests we also cancelled the sports competitions in individual sports groups.  Due to this there were additional competitions in Dodgeball, and Soccer, dividing the campers into two age groups.  In the older groups, the Dodgeball winners were Aron D, Pathrick, and Vidur, while the best Soccer player was Reid S.  In the younger Dodgeball group, the winners were Alan S, and Victoria S. while the Soccer prize was won by Brandon (best goalie) and Rohan (best overall player).

In the relay races competitions the fastest, and most athletic were the Flaming Dragon Toasters, who were comprised of Andrew S, Aron D, Daniel K, Tyler, Remy, Maria M, Brandon, Rohan, and Dimitri.

The best athlete in the Master Camp, which did have sports competitions, was Gilad.

The best “swag walker” was Henry, while the healthiest lunches were brought in by Vidur.

Victoria S celebrated her birthday on Friday, and as is tradition this did not go unnoticed with the students, and coaches, congratulating her at the closing ceremony.

Finally, there was one other category that could only be considered on the last day of the last week of camp.  The staff congratulated those campers who went to the camp for all nine weeks.  These included the Lerman Brothers Mathew (who only turned five in June) and Josh, as well as Daniel K, and Maria M.

We wish all our campers luck and victory in chess! Until we meet again.