Checkmate! Speyer Chess Wows at Chess Nationals!

Chess is the sport of kings...and queens and rooks, but after the US Chess K-12 National Championships, we think chess is the sport of Dragons! Speyer Chess headed south to Orlando and rocked it out against schools with three to five times as many students! Read on to find out more, with this recap from the Speyer Chess folks:

Heartfelt congratulations to 29 Speyer players for their spectacular hard work at the US Chess K-12 National Championships held December 7–10, 2017! This year, more than 1,800 students from 40 states representing 698 teams competed in seven rounds to determine individual and team champions! As one Speyer chess parent put it, it was "an incredible weekend of camaraderie, concentration, laughter, joy, a few tears, amazing parents, and our fantastic coaches...I was so stressed and I wasn't even playing!"

The Speyer teams truly demonstrated they are fierce competitors at the highest level of play, being in contention for the national grade championships and blitz up to the final round. The difference between the national champion and the next few places was separated by as little as a half point. So many of our players fought hard to play their best with each game lasting over three hours. The true tenacious character of Speyer players emerged, playing round after round against opponents with higher ratings. They stuck with it and really went the distance. Speyer chess players are not to be underestimated!

We extend a special thanks to the coaches for their tireless efforts in coaching, checking games, motivating and encouraging the teams! Here are Speyer's fantastic results!

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Team Winners:

1st Grade – 5th place

2nd Grade – 4th place

4th Grade – Tied for 2nd place, placed 3rd on tie break

5th Grade – 13th place (with only two players!)

6th Grade – 3rd place

7th Grade – 4th place

K-6 Blitz – 3rd place

Individual Winners:

1st Grade – Emily L. tied for 1st place, 2nd place on tie break

2nd Grade – Jasper H. tied for 9th place, placed 13th

4th Grade – Johji N. tied for 16th place, placed 20th

5th Grade – James O. tied for 5th place, placed 15th

6th Grade – Ryan P. tied for 7th place, placed 10th

7th Grade – Eugene Y. tied for 4th place, placed 9th

K-6 Blitz – James O. tied for 8th place, placed 9th

And Speyer alum 9th grader Akira N. tied for 3rd place, placed 4th!

Congrats to all of our players and coaches! WAY TO GO, DRAGONS!