Nevada Chess, Inc.

On Saturday, March 17th, 2018, 256 young chess players came to the Las Vegas Day School in Las Vegas, NV to compete in the 2018 Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship, setting a new attendance record for our state scholastic chess championship. The previous attendance record for the Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship was 235 players, set in 2017. The tournament was divided into four sections: a five round high school section for players in grades 12 and below, a five round middle school section for players in grades 8 and below, a six round elementary section for players in grades 5 and below, and a six round primary section for players in grades 3 and below.

In the high school section, 9th grader Ethan Silva from Advanced Technologies Academy (ATECH) defeated the top seeded player, 10th grader Michelangelo Barozzi from The Meadows School, in the second round. Both players finished with four out of five points, with Silva winning the third place trophy and Barozzi taking home the fourth place trophy. In the fourth round, 10th grade ATECH student Omid Najibzadeh upset third seeded 12th grader Naomi Santiago from Edward W. Clark High School. This set up a final round game between Najibzadeh and 12th grade ATECH student Royce Pereira, in which Pereira prevailed. Royce Pereira is the 2018 Nevada state high school chess champion, and Omid Najibzadeh finished the tournament in second place. Advanced Technologies Academy won the high school team title with 17 team points. Edward W. Clark High School finished second in the team competition with 12.5 points, and Palo Verde High School took home the third place team trophy with 12 points.

In the middle school section, the three top seeded players each won all their games in the first four rounds. In the final round third seeded 8th grader Samira Prieto from K. O. Knudson Middle School played the white pieces against 7th grader Darsh Patel from Davidson Academy of Nevada. Their game ended in a repetition of position in an equal king and pawn ending in which neither player was able to make any progress. Prieto finished the tournament in clear second place with 4.5 points. Meanwhile top seeded 7th grader Chris Bao from the Adelson Educational Campus was pressing an attack against the defending Nevada state middle school champion, 8th grader Divyam Muckherjee from Sig Rogich Middle School. Muckherjee successfully launched a counter-attack, using mating threats to win first a knight and then an exchange. Bao resigned in a rook down endgame. Divyam Muckherjee has won the Nevada state middle school chess championship for the second year in a row. Chris Bao took home the third place trophy for his 4-1 result. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School (SEAS) won the Nevada state middle school team championship with 12.5 team points, and Sig Rogich Middle School earned the second place team trophy with 12 points.

In the elementary section top seeded 4th grader Kagan Uz from Caughlin Ranch Elementary School and second seeded 5th grader Shenlone Wu each won all their games in the first five rounds, so they played each other in the final round for the title of Nevada state elementary chess champion. Wu quickly won Uz’s queen. Even though Uz had two minor pieces for the queen, Wu demonstrated why the queen is the strongest piece in chess and won the game. Shenlone Wu is the 2018 Nevada elementary chess champion with a perfect 6-0 score. The Wu household now boasts two state chess champions, as Shenlone’s older sister, Shenmei Wu, won the Nevada State Girls’ Chess Championship held March 10th, 2018 at the Las Vegas Chess Center. Kagan Uz took home the third place trophy. 5th grader J. D. Gallo from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School had one draw and won five games to finish in second place with 5.5 points. Saint Viator Catholic School won the elementary team championship with 18 points. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School and Las Vegas Day School (LVDS) tied for second place in the elementary team competition with 16 points each. SEAS won the second place trophy on tie breaks, and LVDS captured the third place trophy.

In the primary section, 3rd grader Marius Cutitaru from Robert Taylor Elementary School and 2nd grader Nirav Natha from Foothills Montessori drew their fifth round game against each other and defeated 2nd grader Pranav Mahendran from the Coral Academy of Science and 3rd grader Fred Lewandowski from host school LVDS, respectively, in the final round to become 2018 Nevada state primary chess co-champions. Cutitaru earned the first place trophy based upon his tie breaks, and Natha took home the second place trophy. Saint Viator Catholic School earned the primary team championship title with 16.5 points. SEAS finished second in the team competition with 16 points, and LVDS finished third in the team competition with 14.5 points.

Divyam Muckherjee will represent the state of Nevada in the 2018 Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions, which will be held July 28-31 in Middleton, WI. Royce Pereira has earned the right to represent Nevada in the 2018 Denker Tournament of High School Champions, which will also be held July 28-31 in Middleton, WI. Gale Winds, Alan Losoff, Juan Jauregui, and Tom Brownscombe organized the 2018 Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship Tournament on behalf of Nevada Chess, Inc. Tom Brownscombe, Alan Losoff, Juan Jauregui, Sabrina Jauregui, Allen Magruder, Janelle Losoff, and Gale Winds served as tournament directors. Complete results for all players can be found at the Nevada Chess website and the US Chess Federation website. We would like to thank all the players who participated in this tournament for their good sportsmanship, and we hope that we will see even more enthusiastic young chess players at the 2019 Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship.

As part of the effort to promote chess among the girls in Nevada, it was decided by our State US Chess Affiliate to run a separate event for the girls a week before the State Scholastic, for the second year in the row Las Vegas Chess Center organized and hosted it. Sabrina Jauregui was the chief TD.

This year 14 players gathered in the LVCC to play in the tournament, IM and WGM, 2016 US Women Champion Nazi Paikidze- Barnes was in attendance, she addressed the participants and posed with them for pictures, Nazi is committed to help chess in our city, especially with girls. We are planning several events with her for 2018, like simuls, group class, etc.

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