Washington Wolves Chess Club

We are excited to be enjoying another year of chess at Washington Academy!  We have over 100 members in our chess club, playing for fun and for competitive challenge. 

Each year, we teach 20-30 newcomers how to play the game.  Of course, chess is one of the most simple games to learn, yet one of the hardest to master.  Therefore, we provide ongoing instruction and tournament experience for students who want that extra challenge.

What's New? 

• The 2010 Illinois State Scholastic Chess Championships is taking place this weekend,  March 13-14, 2010, at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL. -  details

• The last day for Chess Club this year will be: March 15, 2010.

• The Winter Rockford Chess Challenge was held at RESA on February 6.  We sent 48 Washington Wolves to this tournament and all three of our teams finished in First Place!  Our 6-8 team finished with a record 19.5 out of 20 points!!  Here's how our individuals finished:

• In Pre-Kindergarten, 2^nd Place went to Amy Park. 

• In Grade 1: 3^rd Place: Chris Park, Chris Kellogg, 4^th Place: Tristan Ramos, Ayush Bhalavat, Emmet Finn, Cooper Folkerts, 5^th Place: Tommy Levins, Drew Stadelman, Austin Pozzi, Katerina Chess, 6^th Place: Rachel Oelkers, 7^th Place: Isaac Bernsten

• In Grade 2: 1^st Place: Sengdao Inthavong, 2^nd Place Uday Tandon, Ryan Sweeney, 3^rd Place: Nikolas Stadelman, 5^th Place: Robert Graham, Henry Thomas, Anjali Puri

• In Grade 3, 3^rd Place: Jonathan Oelkers, Jade Keomanivong, Greydon Westin, 4^th Place: Jack Sweet, Andrew Schwartz, 6^th Place: Vrushali Pandit

• In Grade 4, 3^rd Place: Brandon Wallace

• In Grade 5, 1^st Place: Kirkland Shun, 3^rd Place: McKinley Torre, 4^th Place: Shannon Wray, 5^th Place: Grant Germano, Chandan Puri, Spencer Folkerts

• In Grade 6, 1^st Place: Asia Keomanivong, Steven Do, 2^nd Place: Douglas Chan, Sam Rinaldo, David Oelkers, Seth Hayes, Vincent Do, 3^rd Place: Austin Stadelman, Garret Wood

• In Grade 7, 1^st Place: Joshua Day, 2^nd Place: Paul Zaczek

• In Grade 8, 2^nd Place: Wyatt Tufte, Neil Mediratta, Ashwin Puri, 3^rd Place: Rayomand Tata

• Chess Club T-shirts are still for sale while supplies last.  There are two fun designs to choose from.  T-shirts cost $12.

Chess Club Information

• Sign-up Form

• Chess Club meets from 3:15 - 4:15 every Monday we have school.  Middle School students can take the activity bus back to their zone school.

• The Team coaches always pick up players in the cafeteria, move to another room for instruction and return them to the cafeteria so parents can pick them up.  All players must be signed out by an adult or dismissed to the activity bus.

• Students may eat a snack during the first 10 minutes of chess club.  They can bring a snack from home or purchase one for 50 cents.

• Volunteers to play chess or just to help monitor the students are always welcome! 

Chess Team Information

• Grade 1  

• Grade 2-3

• Upcoming Tournaments

  • FIDE Intercontinental Chess School Team Chess Championship, March 26 - 28, 2010, Skokie, IL - details

  • Spring 2010 - Saturday May 8 - Harlem MS  - details coming soon

Rockford Scholastic Chess

• Check out Rockford Scholastic Chess for information about local and area tournaments. 

• Check out the Chess Instruction page for lessons, flashcards, and more!

Recent Chess Club News

• The 2009 National Youth Action Tournament was held on November 21 & 22 at the Double Tree Hotel in Oak Brook, Illinois.  We are proud of the Wolves who participated in this serious, competitive chess, vying against teams from around the country - as far away as Florida, Texas and New York. 

  • Our K-3 Team included Jonathan Oelkers and Tanishk and Tanmay Vijaywargiya.  They finished in 14th place.

  • Our K-6 Team included Douglas Chan, McKinley Torre, Tiffany Ding, Stephen Do, Vincent Do, Grant Germano, Asia Keomanivong, David Oelkers and Kirkland Shun.  Our K-6 Team finished in 9th place helped by Vincent Do, a second grader "playing up" in this division.  He won 6.5 of the 9 games and finished in 16th place overall.

  • Our K-8 Team included Ashwin Puri, Benji Bear and Paul Zaczek.  This team finished in 14th place.

  • Individual Results

  • Team Results

• RESA held their first annual Team Tournament on Saturday, November 14.  It was the first time many of our players had participated in a "board tournament".  Washington sent four teams.  Our two 6-8 teams tied for first place!

  • 6-8 Team 1: Vincent Do, Steven Do, Kirkland Shun, Grant Germano and David Oelkers

  • 6-8 Team 2: Neil Medirratta, Wyatt Tufte, Sam Rinaldo, Asia Keomanivong and Garret Wood

  • K-5 Team 1: McKinley Torre, Jonathan Oelkers, Sengdao Inthavong, Greydon Westin and Jade Keomanivong (Third Place)

  • K-5 Team 2: Charlie Shriver, Jackson sweet, Brandon Chansomone, Henry Thomas and Ryan Sweeney

Over the years, Washington Academy students have done quite well at the regional, state, and national level, too.  To see some of our tournament history, click on the sites below:

• Washington Academy Chess History
• 2003 National Youth Action Local Winners
• 2003 Illinois State Scholastic Championship Local Results
• 2002 National Youth Action Local Results
• Chess in Rockford

This page was last updated on March 13, 2010.