40+ students from the Chess in the Schools programs at MS 390X, PS/MS 279X, MS126K, and PS 150Q competed in this year’s USCF Junior High Nationals in Grapevine, TX, which is just outside of Dallas.
The playing room!
The event which took place over three days and seven rounds during the NYC School’s Spring Break, so students only missed school one day of school, as opposed to 4 plus days during most nationals.
390X at the school before the trip! This is the largest group the school has ever taken to Nationals!
For half of these students, the trip to Texas was their first nationals, and for many, their first trip on an airplane! This is the case for many of CIS students each year; the chess trips the schools take are often the first trips outside of the city for many of the students. These 4-5 day trips with their school chess teams are some of the best childhood memories for many chess kids! During the event our kids even got to watch a classic CBS Sunday report on our program at PS 70X back in the 1990s. The report profiles the team at the nationals and includes one student, Kwadwo Acheampong, who now is on the Board of Directors of Chess in the Schools.
Our students competed in the K-8 Championship, K-8 U1000, K-8 U750, and K-9 Unrated sections.
Team Work makes the Dream Work!
All of our schools won team awards in the sections they played and every team had at least one student get an individual award, but most important they have the wonderful memories of traveling with their chess team and playing in a national event!
MS 390X, 3rd Place in the Unrated Section and 12th Place in the U750 Section.PS/MS 279X, 9th Place in the U1000 Section!MS 126K, 15th Place U750 Section and Itzael Huerta scored 5 points and placed 18th individually out of 323 total players.Bronwyn Condon from 150Q places in the top 20 of the U1000 section!Students working with Coach Rivera before the first round!Coach Stovall reviews a game in the CIS Team RoomCoach Staso reviews a game as students watch closely!Andrickson Read thanks his teacher for her support after winning his 4th straight game! He finished in the top 25 in the U750 section!Coach Staso proudly displays his team’s trophies!
CIS has three schools competing in two weeks in Nashville for the EL Nationals! Follow-us on social media for more pictures and videos.
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