The Captain of our Whittier Chess Team, Ramiro has been invited to participate in the MVP Invitational Chess Tournament for Chicago Public School Students in April at the Harold Washington Library’s Winter Garden.
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Whittier Chess Team at Chess Tourney
Chess Tourney
On Friday, May 15 Whittier was one of 8 elementary schools in Area 9 to participate in their annual chess tournament. Despite having no players in 7th or 8th grade, we did quite well. We came home with 2 trophies for individual achievement; there were no team trophies awarded.
Andy (Grade 6 ) won a second place trophy for players in his division (Skill level 2). Ramiro (Grade 6) competed against the top players (skill level 1) from each school. He won a third place trophy. The other players played well, too. Marissa and Alex ( both Grade 6 ) competed in their first tournaments. Jorge Carrasco (5-307), a tournament veteran, came close to winning a trophy.
A noteworthy highlight for me was Ramiro’s first game where he was pitted against the top player from Chavez. I watched it pretty much move by move and Ramiro played a near flawless game. As the opponents neared their endgame, Ramiro smothered the unsuspecting Chavez player by successfully advancing a pawn to the 7th rank threatening queen promotion. His only shortcoming was his failure to develop his king side rook efficiently to maximize support of the queening pawn. However, Ramiro (don’t let that tender face fool you) had his opponent so thoroughly bewildered that he wrecklessly sacrificed a valuable piece to capture this wayward pawn. From there, Ramiro ably executed masterful trades until – at that point down to kings and pawns – promoted another pawn, cornered the Chavez king and checkmated his foe.
"We've Got To Be Whittier" Chess Team
The “We’ve Got To Be Whittier” Chess Team is invigorated this year with new talent. We are definitely planning on being a competitive challenge for the annual Area 9 school chess tournament. While some of the newcomers are still navigating the chess board and distinguishing between rooks and bishops; forks and pins; checks and check mates, others are learning advanced winning combinations. Players are even solving chess puzzles from magazines as a way to hone their skills. Ramiro, a fifth grader, continues to be the player to beat! Come watch us play every Monday in Ms. Chong’s classroom.