2017 SUMMER CHESS TOURNAMENT

18 players from at least 10 schools participated in our 8th scholastic tournament held by the Tokyo Bilingual Chess Club on June 3, 2017. 

In 2017, TBCC is continuing its chess education awareness campaign with more learning sessions and better access to training resources in Tokyo.
For many kids in Class B, it was a first introduction to tournament chess.  Taking the challenge is commendable and we hope they feel proud.

When two or more players ended up with the same score, we had a blitz chess play-off, in which they play one game of five-minute chess to determine who wins which trophy.

 

Congratulations to our 2017 Summer Chess Tournament winners:

Class A: Andrew Bergenthal  with 4.0/5.0

Class A: Kai Tatsumi with 3.5/5.0

Class A: Shota Osaka with 3.5/5.0

Class B: Aki Hasegawa with 5.0/5.0

Class B: Annette Bergenthal with 4.0/5.0

Class B: Tomoki Ishikawa with 3.5/5.0

The energy in the room was incredible!  Every player earned a certificate just for participating and, to keep our young masters striving, the 1st place winner in respective section received a free entry to the next tournament. Parents, chess players, and siblings all had a positive experience and went home with prizes and smiles!

The Tournament Director, Alex A., Kevin I., Chess in the Schools-NYC, and Ujjwala T, U of Tokyo chess club, settled any type of dispute that arose during the game.  A huge THANK YOU to the International Master, Ryosuke Nanjo, for presenting trophies and certificates to the winners and to Emi H. for valuable photography.  Children loved homemade brownies and cookies, prepared by Dylan B.'s mom, during breaks. We could not hold chess tournaments without them!

All levels of beginners are encouraged to participate in our quarterly tournaments, engaging them in low-risk and fun environment against similarly skilled players.  These tournaments go beyond pieces and squares, introducing new players to the rules and etiquette of competitive chess and exposing them to other elements not easily translated from casual play. Plus they are fun!

We can't wait to do this again this fall.