2008 - 2009 Season Events


Greater Pocono Scholastic Chess Championship, September 27, 2008


Congratulations to Bryce B. for going undefeated and winning the tournament.

The Sparta High School varsity team took second place. John I. had two major upset wins and Rob T. had an upset win and a draw. Matt F., Natasha S., Scott V. and Alex D. also participated. Matt placed fourth in the Under 1000 division.

Congratulations to Austin K. for his third place finish in the Under 1000 division. He was undefeated until the final round. Colin C. and AJ T. also participated. The Sparta Middle School team finished second


Sparta Chess Club Octoberfest, October 25, 2008


We had our most successful tournament yet on Saturday, with 60 participants. Kyle R. won the Open Section (again), and Ryan R. won the Under 500. Rob T. with two huge upsets advanced his rating to 1129. Dylan R. moved up 226 points. Congratulations to all the winners and competitors. We look forward to an even bigger and better tournament next year!


New England Scholastic Championships, Mt. Snow, Vermont, Nov. 9, 2008

The Sparta Chess Team placed first or second in every division of this tournament.
Kyle R. and Rob T. represented the team in the Green Mountain Open.

The Sparta High School Team of Natasha, Alex, Matt, Kyle B. and Brian placed first in the High School division.

Adam led the Sparta Middle School Team to a first place finish. He was assisted by Eryk, Austin, AJ, Dylan, and Alec.

Kyra won the Elementary Individual championship and the team finished second. Thomas, Gretchen, Lizzie, Emily, Travis, Kayla and Matt all contributed to the team's second place finish.

The Primary team made its debut and finished second led by the indomitable kindergarten duo of Reilly and Cooper. Their older sisters, Morgan and Cleary rounded out the team. 


News Article - Sparta Chess Club successful at New England Scholastic Championships

Grade Level Championships - Lincroft, NJ, November 23, 2008

Our Kindergartners and Third Graders are NJ State Grade Level Champions!
Congrats to Reilly K., Cooper W., Brady K., Anthony E., Keith J., Ryan R., Tim F. , and Kayla M. Cooper and Anthony were cited for individual achievement.

Our first graders were fifth.....Alexis L., Ian M., Kate S., and Zach W.

Our second graders were fourth....Daniel L., Matt T., Cleary W., Evan J., and Philipos C.

The following third and fourth graders also participated: Lizzie W., Emily B., Julia W., Matt D., Griffin M., Joe S., Atticus R., and Brianna D.

The Mohawk Avenue team placed fourth.....Kyra S., Justin C., Ed W., Thomas W., Gretchen B., Mike D., Alex C., and Rhett C.
Kyra also received individual recognition.

The sixth graders finished fourth paced by Dillon M. with three wins, Dylan R., Alex M., and Rebecca M.

The Seventh graders placed second led by Ian C.'s three wins. Ian was assisted by Adam B., Alec B., and Alex W.

Eryk B. was the lone eighth grader and scored three points.

The frosh and sophs at Sparta HS both finished fourth. Brian D. and Alex D. both had three wins for the 9th graders, and Kyle B. had three wins for the 10th graders.

Our Sparta HS Varsity Seniors placed second, with Kyle R. placing individual second.
Bryce B. had three wins.

News Article - Kindergarten Team wins NJ Kindergarten Chess Championship

Greater New York Scholastics, NYC - January 31, February 1, 2009

Over 30 players participated in this event.

World Team Championship, Parsippany, NJ - February 14-16, 2009

Congrats to Bryce B. with a score of 4 1/2. Bryce defeated two 1800 players and just missed a third.  Austin K. and Dylan R. had their first taste of the nation's most difficult team event.

Sparta Quads and Parent/Child match - February 21, 2009


We had a great time Saturday, with our first event of this type. Thanks to everyone who participated and helped us donate to the food pantry at the Presbyterian Church. We had 20 brave parents who played their best, and managed to hold the chess club members to a tie (twice)!  Quad Winners...........
Quad 1........Tom M. Kyle R. and Mark V. (tie) 2-1
Quad 2........Larry L. 3-0
Quad 3........Chris A. 3-0
Quad 4........John I., Dylan R. and Joe G. (tie) 2-1
Quad 5........Matt F. 3-0
Quad 6........Colin C. 3-0
Quad 7........Keith J. 3-0
Quad 8........Lizzie W. 2 1/2- 1/2
Quad 9........Emily B. 4-0 double round robin 
Quad 10.......Christopher H. 5-0 round robin.

NJ Primary/Elementary Championship, Lincroft, NJ - March 1, 2009


Our 5th graders took fifth place. Kyra S. led the effort with three wins and was assisted by Gretchen B., Austin A., Travis K., Thomas W., Nicholas S., and Michael D.
 
Congrats to Anthony E. for his 2 1/2 points scored.
 
Reilly K. won the only individual trophy in the Elementary Championships.  

NJ Middle School, Rutgers - March 8, 2009

The Middle School Team won the State Championship!
Eryk B. went undefeated, and Dylan R. only lost once in route to the team's impressive victory. Adam B., Colin C., Ian C., Kyra S. and Austin K. each contributed three wins! Eryk also received an individual trophy!

Read the news article -
Middle School Chess Team Wins State Championship

NJ High School, Rutgers - March 7-8

The JV Team placed second in the JV state championship. 
The Varsity placed sixth in their state championship. They defeated Union Tech, Bergen Academy "B",  and Toms River East. The team scored 12 wins led by Scott V.'s undefeated effort.

United States Chess Federation SUPERNATIONALS
Elementary, Junior High and High School Nationals in one great event! 
April 2 - 5, 2009, Nashville, Tennessee

NASHVILLE  was fabulous! There were many great performances and highlights from team members during our four day stay. The first surprise was when the K-3 group (Anthony E., Lizzie W., Kayla M., Keith J. and Morgan,  Reilly K.) took 5th place in the Blitz (5 minute) Championship. The next surprise was when Bryce B. obtained a draw vs. Grandmaster Shabalov during one of the Grandmaster simultaneous exhibitions! There were many individual and team awards earned during the nationals:
Sparta Elementary
Individual - K3 Under 800 - 40th Place - Elizabeth W.
Team - K3 Under 800 - 24th Place - Elizabeth W., Anthony E., Keith J., and Kayla M.

Sparta Junior High
Individual - K8 Under 750 - 7th Place - Austin K.
Individual - “ 14th Place - A. J. T.
Team - K8 Under 750 - 22nd Place - Austin, A. J. and Colin C.
Team - K8 Under 1000- 8th Place - Adam B., Kyra S., Dylan R., and Ian C.

Sparta High School
Individual - K12 Under 1200: 7th Place - Chris A.
Team - K12 Under 1200: 12th Place-Chris A., Eryk B., Alex D., Kyle B.
Special mention should go to the
High School Varsity. They wanted to face the   strongest competition possible and placed 30th in the High School Championship.

Read the news article -
In The Kitchen with Tom Murray

Sussex County Middle Schools K-8 Championship
June 8, 2009 - Sussex Community College Pavilion
This is the annual tournament open to chess teams from
all Sussex County Schools, grades K - 8.