|
Chess Academy 2000
Year in review
As you know, our chess club has been a complete success. The children have
been continuously growing in all areas of this, The Royal Game.
During the past year, members of the club have experienced
not only the thrill of playing chess but the excitement of participating in out side tournaments as well.
The four outside
tournaments we have competed in have been complete successes. Our club has come home with championships in all of them, going
four for four.
A review of our outside Tournaments;
1.
Jake Simon from the Hoboken Chess Academy and Johnie Bauers from the Elysian Charter School placed first and second out of
50 children at the "Chess Challenge 2000" at New Jersey City University in April.
2. With 38 children competing
at the Hudson County Courthouse Rotunda, Second grader James Arsenault from Hoboken Catholic Academy went a percept 4 and
0 to win the first group championship (first through third graders), as did eight grader Veechimo Morin from A.J. Demarest
School to win the third group championship (eight through tenth graders). Both players winning additionally to their first
place trophies a Fifty-dollar cash bonus awarded for their perfect scores! Ciaran Finnegan from Hoboken Charter School went
home with a second place trophy respectfully.
3. With approximately 75 children competing in a blitz knockout tournament
(5 minute speed chess, single elimination), Curt Beck, second grader from Elysian Charter school won first place as did ninth
grader Veechimo Morin from Hoboken High in "the Hudson Mall knockout Blitz Challenge". Second grader Ciaran Finnegan
from Hoboken charter school placed second, as did Javiel Areece from the Mustard Seed school in their groups.
4. Most
recently, Joseph Pliszka, third grader of the Mustard Seed School finished five and zero to win the championship at "The
Tournament of New Jersey City University" Ciaran Finnegan also came home with the championship of first and second graders.
Sunny Raithatha of the Elysian Charter school and Hoboken Chess Academy placed a very respectful third place. This was both
Josephs and Sunnys first experience in outside tournament play!
Additional tournaments have taken place at our club
level as well.
1. Veechimo Morin had won the Hoboken City Chess Championship 1999 and the 2000 championship is currently
taken place with the Champion not yet determined.
2. Curt Beck has won the Elysian Charter School Chess Club Championship
2000.
3. Summer Camp 2000 tournaments took place each week with trophies given to the twelve weekly champions as well
as second and third place finishers.
4. The Hoboken Chess Clubs first official U.S.C.F. (United States Chess Federation)
rated tournament took place with a tie for the championship prize. William Alston, sixth grader from Hoboken Catholic Academy
and Curt Beck, second grader from The Elysian Charter School, both finishing with 3.5 point out of a possible 4.
Additional
to tournaments, the Children have been to some of the most popular places to play chess in the world and have experienced
the atmosphere in history that past generations write about.
Visiting the famous Washington Square Park is now routine
for our children as is their ability in beating some of the professionals who play there.
We have visited on occasion,
quite possible the two most famous chess clubs in the world, "The Manhattan Chess Club" and the "Marshal Chess
Club".
Just last week some of our children witnessed an international chess tournament at the world famous Marshall
chess club, home to the site of many World Championships.
In this room, the children witnessed the behavior of how chess
champions conduct their great skills of concentration, determination and will power.
During this event, we were able
to watch the conclusion of a contest between one young female chess master opposing a senior Chess Master.
At the tender
age of 15, this particular child had already reached the level of Chess Master, exceeding the rating of 2200, (2247 to be
exact). Along with this extraordinary accomplishment, she had won the national championship of the country of Spain and finished
16 in the world tournament in Russia, as her proud mother would later inform me.
I suggested that we get a copy of the
game of this future Womens world Champion candidate and the children agreed. They then copied all the moves of her game and
since have reviewed it many times. One Child proudly stating that this was the first game reviewed of the hundreds they already
have reviewed in their studies that they actually witnessed live!
The children were very excited.
I have been
committed to bringing to your children the knowledge I have reached in studying this royal game, through hard work and many
hours of research through books and computers, along with my personal experience in my own Tournaments.
With your cooperation,
I hope to make the year 2001 a more successful one.
Peter Croce
Founder of the Hoboken Chess Club
Enter subhead content here
|
