The Southeast Junior High Chess Team took second place at its first tournament for the school year when it traveled to Neodesha High School on Saturday November 1. Three of five SJHS students who went placed in the top seven.

“The Southeast Junior High Team held tight to first place for most of the tournament with some players on the top boards until after the last round,” said SJHS Chess Team Coach Ryan Hizey. “Our team went into 2nd place at the end of the tournament, just missing Royster Middle School from Chanute, Kansas by 1.5 points for a tie. Everyone on the team medaled as well.”

Hizey said the competition was a six round Swiss tournament with a 30 minute time control, meaning each game could last up to an hour long. Five teams and a total of 30 players participated in the K-8 division.

Team Results – uses points from top four players on each team. Top 3 teams received trophies:
1st – Royster Middle School, Chanute with 16 students: 17 points
2nd – Southeast Junior High with 5 students: 15.5 points
3rd – Raintree Montessori Elementary with 2 students: 10.5 points
4th – North Lawn Elementary, Neodesha with 4 students: 7.5 points
5th – Erie Elementary, Erie with 3 students: 7 points.

Southeast Junior High Player Results:
5th Place: Dakota Tyree: 4 wins
6th Place: Brody Newswander: 4 wins
7th Place: Hunter Chrysler: 4 wins
11th Place: Lillian Chrysler: 3.5 wins
29th Place: Kyle Carter: 0.5 wins

“I was and am a very, very proud coach,” said Mr. Hizey. “I was thrilled with how the team did at our first tournament. Everyone took their time, worked hard, and put in an awesome team effort.”

The team’s next tournament will be this Saturday (November 8) at Chanute High School in Chanute, Kansas.