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Ray kids stand out at neighborhood tournament

The last chess tournament of the school year turned out to be one of the best, as Ray kids took advantage of their superior numbers at a meet held here in Hyde Park yesterday to win three team trophies with a clean sweep of all elementary-school divisions.

Chess Education Partners’ Zack Fishman with the trophy-laden Ray School team

In the first of what we hope will be many tournaments at the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club conducted by Chess Education Partners, Ray took first place in the K-1, Grades 2-3, and Grades 4-5 categories.

Ray students also brought home eight individual trophies, a school record for a single event. Leading the way was Phillip Parker-Turner, who finished first in the Grades 2-3 division with a perfect five victories in as many rounds. Other Ray kids who won trophies were Allen Dai, Karen Dai, Sonam Ford, Gonzalo Higuero, James Liu, Nikolaj Reiser, and George Vassilatos.

Kids from other schools who posted excellent records included Mickey Li, Brian Lorenz, Noah Weeks-Brittan, Zackery Mateo Montes, and Stone Tao. See the complete results here.

It was a great way to finish up the season, and we didn’t even have to leave the neighborhood. Thanks to Zack Fishman, Jan van der Mortel, and Bruce Haffner from Chess Education Partners and to Peter Cassel of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club for hosting the event. Look for more programs from CEP at the Neighborhood Club in the fall.

More photos here.

And don’t forget: We’ll be back playing chess again next Saturday afternoon at the University of Chicago. See you there.