Nolan and Thrasher teams at the chess boards getting ready to play their first round in regular play against each other. Nolan is on left side of table (Nicholas Barrett, Adrian Andreescu, Trevor McGhie, and Victor Mehovic) and Thrasher on the right (Ian Campbell, Masaka Steele, J.J. Massey, Ryan Riese).
Primary (K-3) team players from Nolan and Thrasher Elementary Schools with chess coaches, Joe Kodsi and Bill Cheal
Signal Mountain Chess students won as they competed in four-player teams for their schools in Saturday's regional Tennessee Scholastic Chess Tournament held at Cleveland Middle School.
Both Nolan and Thrasher’s teams in the Primary division for grades Kindergarten through third grade will advance to state competition later this month. (Big Ridge Elementary’s team in this division will also go to state.)
Thrasher’s team placed first with members, Yugi Steele, Caleb Quisenberry, Mark Nashi, Jude Smith, and Joshua Thompson.
Nolan’s team came in second with members, Oliver Nimon, Aubrey Lynch, Parker Wilson, and Elijah Hess.
The elementary division (grades fourth through sixth) provided some excitement for the local teams.
Nolan and Thrasher ended regular play among six teams in a three-way tie with a Crossville HomeSchool team.
To break the tie, the teams had to play timed matches involving rapid plays closely observed by four tournament directors, three coaches, and several spectators.
“If you could harness the nervous energy at the blitz match (timed match), you could light Chattanooga,” said Bill Cheal, who coaches the Chess teams at Signal schools along with Joe Kodsi.
Nolan lost to Thrasher in regular play but beat them in the play-off. They ended their next match in a draw (each team had two wins and two losses) with the Crossville HomeSchool team then lost the next match with them.
In the end, Nolan’s Elementary team placed second and Thrasher came in third. Both advance to state competition. (Cleveland Middle School placed fifth, and Big Ridge Elementary placed sixth in the same division.)
Nolan Elementary members were Nicholas Barrett, Trevor McGhie, Andrian Andresscu, and Victor Mehovic.
Thrasher Elementary members were Ian Campbell, Masaki Steele, JJ Massey, and Ryan Reise.
Cheal and Kodsi watched chess plays closely to offer advice to students for the next rounds. “It is difficult to watch a match when your teams are playing each other,” Mr. Cheal said.
George Andreescu, Rushton Shroom, and Maxwell Sewell also played in the tournament’s "Junior High" division from SMMHS but were handicapped since other events, rescheduled for snow days, prevented them from having a fourth member. Their team still placed fifth among six teams.
McCallie School’s team won the junior high division and came in second in the high school division. Cleveland Middle School came in third in the “Junior High” division, while Cleveland High School placed fourth in the same division. They all will proceed to state.
Region 2 Results: http://tnchess.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/REGION-2-TEAM.pdf