Scholastic Chess Championship Breaks Oklahoma Record

by Julie Luscomb

Scholastic chess players from 57 schools and home school organizations across Oklahoma gathered at Carl Albert High School in Midwest City for the 10th Annual Oklahoma State Scholastic Championship. With a record 236 players, this was the largest USCF (US Chess Federation) rated chess event in Oklahoma history. This tournament was hosted by the Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Organization (OSCO) and Mid-Del Public Schools with the support of the Oklahoma Chess Association (OCA) and the USCF. Robert Epperly, President of OSCO and coach of Carl Albert High School Chess Club, coordinated the championship with active support of Principal Dr. Silvya Kirk and Sgt. Lisa Marie Pate from the U.S. Army.

Individual and team state championship titles, OSCO Grand Prix chess scholarships, and the Denker and Polgar tournament scholarships were all at stake with this event.

Each year OSCO awards a $500 scholarship for the top player in the 9th-12th Grade Open section to attend the Arnold Denker Tournament of High School Champions. John Cope (Tulsa, Booker T. Washington High School) and Jacob B. Berger (Oklahoma City, Classen School for Advanced Studies) initially tied for the day with a perfect 4 out of 4 wins. After an exciting blitz playoff, John Cope was declared winner and received the Denker scholarship for the second year in a row.

OSCO also awards a separate $500 scholarship for the top female high school champion to attend the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls. This year, 9th grader Rachel Farell (Tulsa, Home Schooled) earned this award with a positive 3 out of 4 wins in the 9th-12th Grade Open section.

OSCO Grand Prix chess scholarships were distributed to players in four separate grade level groups. These scholarships were based on cumulative points earned from the players' performances in 6 separate scholastic chess tournaments held during the 2005-2006 school year. Prize funds for this year's scholarships amounted to nearly $300 each. For grade level 9th-12th, Rachel Farell (Tulsa, Home Schooled) received this chess scholarship. In the 8th-9th grade level group, 8th grader Devin Hughes (Edmond, Heritage Hall) accepted this award. Fifth grader, Hannah Farell (Tulsa, Home Schooled), joined her sister as the 5th-6th grade Grand Prix winner. The K-4th grade Grand Prix recipient was 4th grader Kenny Lin (Broken Arrow, Country Lane Elementary).

Individual and team titles were awarded by sections. In the Grades 9-12 Open Section, John Cope (Tulsa, Booker T. Washington High School) and Jacob B. Berger (Oklahoma City, Classen School for Advanced Studies) were declared co-champions, both earning a perfect 4 out of 4 wins. The State Team Championship title for high schools was awarded to the Carl Albert High School team from Midwest City for the second year in a row.

In the Grades 6-9 Open Section, 7th grader Drew V Cottrill (Tulsa, Union 6th/7th) received the State Championship title with a perfect 5 out of 5 wins for the day. This was Drew's fourth year in a row to receive the championship title in his section. The state team championship title for the junior high schools was claimed by Will Rogers Junior High team from Claremore for the second year in a row.

In the K-6 Premier Section, a three-way tie occurred with Hannah G Farell (Tulsa, Home Schooled), Isaac D Stansell (Broken Arrow, Wolf Creek Elementary), and Carey M McCachern (Edmond, Deer Creek Middle School) each earning 4 out of 5 wins. They will share the state co-championship title for this section. First place team championship title for the K-6 Premier Section was awarded to the Ida Freeman Elementary team of Edmond.

The K-6 U700 Section had two top players with a perfect 5 for 5 score for the day. Joseph Hearon (Midwest City, St. Philip Neri) and Abby Taliaferro (Edmond, Ida Freeman Elementary) took home the state co-championship title. Ida Freeman Elementary chess team from Edmond earned the team championship title in this section.

In the K-4 Premier Section, Becky Huang (Edmond, Northern Hill Elementary) is the state champion with 5 out of 5 wins for the day. The team championship title went to the Madison Elementary School team from Norman.

In the Grades K-4 Under 500 Section, 67 players battled over the championship title. At the end of the rounds, Thomas LaPointe (Broken Arrow, Wolf Creek Elementary) and Katie Tantakis (Jenks, Jenks West Elementary) were declared co-champions with a perfect 5 out of 5 wins. Ida Freeman Elementary of Edmond secured the state championship team title after edging out Madison Elementary School of Norman.

OSCO events are run entirely by volunteers who give their time and expertise because they believe in the benefits of scholastic chess. USCF Certified Tournament Directors for this event included Jim Gray (Stillwater), Robert McDonough (Jenks), Mike Swatek (Claremore), Charles Unruh (Owasso) and Rod Whitlatch (Jenks). National Chess Master and Oklahoma Chess Association President, Chuck Unruh, provided game analysis and coaching for players between rounds. Numerous other parents, coaches, OSCO board members, and school staff worked together to make the 2006 Oklahoma State Scholastic Championship a remarkable success.

Oklahoma Scholastic chess has experienced tremendous growth this year with a 70% increase in tournament participation. The benefits of chess are numerous. For a summary and links to articles and publications, see the Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Organization's Web site at http://www.okschess.org/starting/benefits/index.htm. If you have a K-12 student interested in learning how to play chess, a listing of Oklahoma scholastic chess clubs may be found at http://www.okschess.org/members/clubs.