Saint George’s School hosted the Groundhog Gambit on Saturday, February 11. The 46 participants included several regulars, a dozen playing in their first event, and a large contingent from the host school. In addition, five SGS parents participated in the three round parent’s event. See a Photo Gallery of the event.
The High School/Open Division Trophy was awarded to SGS 7th grader Eshan Reddy (4.5) over West Valley HS senior Hasan Al-Hakeem (4.5), who drew their fourth round game in the top section and beat their other opponents. “Eshan had stronger tie-breaks–his opponents scoring one more than Hasan’s–and so took home the first place trophy,” said SGS chess coach James Stripes.
Eleven Saint George’s students made up the bulk of the players in the Elementary division. Melody Ji (4.0) finished second, while Yanek Zhan took fourth place and the prize for the biggest upset. Overall, Saint George’s dominated in the Elementary team competition. Congratulations to all the participants and a big thank you to the volunteers at the check-in and scoring tables!