The weekend of December 15th through the 17th, was a busy one for many of the chess students at the South Jersey Innovation Center (SJIC), it was the National K-12 Grade Championship–or better known as Nationals to the SJIC community)!
This prodigious tournament took place at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, drawing a remarkable turnout of over 2,400 players. 21 of these players were the SJIC’s own chess students. Before the first round, there was an opening ceremony to welcome all of the players–some of which traveled hours by plane to play in it. Then, it was time for the games to begin.
Each of the seven games had a time control of 90 minutes with a 5 second delay. The player’s problem-solving abilities, concentration, sportsmanship, and other important 21st century life skills were all tested during this tournament.
In between rounds, the SJIC’s chess students were able to congregate in the team room. Here, they could analyze their games, play casual games of chess, and relax before the next round.
SJIC Innovator’s Tournament Results Highlights:
- Tariq Yue: 6 out of 7 points, 1st place, 5th grade section
- Aayansh Pramanik: 6 out of 7 points, 4th place, 3rd grade section
- Rishik Bhattacharyya : 5 points out of 7, 20th place, 4th grade section
- Shyla Rana: 4.5 out of 7 points, 50th place, 8th grade
- Benjamin Lauer: 4 points out of 7, 31st place, 12th grade section
A leading center for STEM instruction (including math, computing, and robotics), SJIC offers superb instructional chess programs for both children and adults. SJIC hosts official rated chess tournaments every other Sunday and rated rapid tournaments every Wednesday night.
