All Is Wells

Small Ray squad scores big at South Side tourney

Only four kids from Ray School played in Saturday’s chess tournament at Wells Prep, but every one of them went home with a trophy, the first time that’s happened in a citywide event.

(Full standings here for the tournament, sponsored by the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago and hosted by nearby Wells Prep on Pershing Road. More photos here.)

Competition for overall tournament champion came down to a head-to-head match between two Ray kids: Phillip Parker-Turner and Sonam Ford, who entered the final round leading the heady advanced section. It was not the first time that has happened: Phillip and Sonam have each won the section in previous tournaments, and they have been battling for the league’s top spot all year.

This time Phillip won the fifth-round game between the two to emerge as the day’s top player among a throng of 150. In other divisions, Ray third grader George Vassilatos won his first trophy, with a 4.0/5 eighth-place finish in the beginner section, and fifth-grader Andy Margulis, playing his first tournament as an intermediate, proved that he certainly belongs in that highly competitive section by winning a fourth-place trophy, also with a 4.0/5 score.

Congratulations to Disney Magnet School and Coach Trevor Scott for winning its fourth YCFC team competition; to Lorenzo Grego of Ancona School for winning the beginner competition; and to Jabari Dean of Cook School for finishing first in Intermediate.

Thanks to the YCFC for another great tournament and to David Layne and everyone at Wells for their first-rate hospitality.

Click for more:

Final Standings
More photos