Our first P.A. Day chess event of 2020 was a great success, with 55 kids from beginners to experienced chess players participating in a wide variety of activities, including (of course) lots of chess instruction and play.

Our tournament section (for more advanced players) had a field of twenty players who played seven rounds of rapid chess over the day. Time controls were 9 minutes plus 3 seconds per move. We saw a lot of excellent chess being played, players learning new techniques and trying to apply them. There were some terrific checkmates, and a lot of dramatic turns.

As Tartakower once said: “Nobody ever won a game by resigning,” and the tenacity of the tournament players was sometimes rewarded, as a losing player managed to get a draw by very unusual stalemates, as you will see in the following two positions.

At the end, the results were:

1st place: Noah Velasquez (7/7), a perfect score!

2nd place: Nolan Wu (6/7)

3rd place: Logan Mak (5/7)

Two Spirit Awards were also handed out to players who did their best, showed great attitude, and were helpful in keeping the tournament flowing well. These awards went to Cole Mandaric and Martin-Oliver Roux.

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In the “mix” section, which is more casual and has a greater variety of activities (including lots of chess instruction), awards were given for participation, among other things. Medals were given to:

1st place: Daisuke Dolan

2nd place: Ivy Quinlan

3rd place: Rupert Kahng

with the spirit award going to Isadora Ayres.

We look forward to seeing you at our next P. A. Day event, which will be on Friday February 14th.