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Return to Mike Schulte's Page | Katy Ford's Page | WestMichiganChess.com Home Grand Haven Area Arts Council Scholastic Tournament
Scholastic Chess Returns to the LakeshoreBy Katy Ford The festivities started at 10 a.m. on June 16, 2007 in the purple building that is the Grand Haven Area Arts Council. Sixteen children competed - boys ranging in age from 5 years to 17 years of age. Their ratings varied widely as well, from completely unrated to Class C (1407). There were tournament veterans such as the Chen brothers, and those like Arno Riolo and Tas Shreve who were brand new to the tournament scene. The tournament was directed by veteran director Mike Schulte and assisted by Katy Ford. Andy Catlin and Sara Miller volunteered their assisting services as well, resulting in a very smoothly-run tournament. 
It really was a fun day. Snacks and a pizza lunch were provided, and all of the players received a medal for participation. Many of the kids were friends with each other. In addition, some of the families and siblings stayed for the day. These combined factors created a friendly, easy-going atmosphere. It was a little too welcoming, perhaps, because a certain group of 11-year-olds took to insistently, almost constantly, requesting (demanding?) the pairings for the next round before the current round was up. In adult tournaments, players play their rounds and watch the other games quietly before the next round's pairings are posted. Not so at the GHAAC Scholastic! It isn't often that we directors get such vocal and eager participants who are so unabashedly excited to start playing again. The banter that ensued really made the day memorable for me - what fun kids! All of them are great, although that bunch of persuasive 11-year-olds will someday make excellent politicians or attorneys. We gave out eight trophies to the highest scorers in several sections. Peter Chen took first place overall and scored the highest of the 4th-6th graders in attendance, with a perfect score of 6.0. Pradeep Madduri earned a second place trophy in the same division, with score of 4.0. Josh Patton and Nick Kurdziel earned first and second place trophies for competitors in grades 10-12, respectively. Josh is underrated in my opinion, and as such is a formidable opponent. Both Josh and Pradeep lost their only games to the daunting Chen brothers. Michael Chen took second place overall, and won the first place trophy among the Kindergarten-3rd graders, with a 4.5 point score. Nathan Peterson won a second place trophy in the same division, with a 3.0 score for the day. Tas Shreve won first place for the unrated 4th-6th graders, and Arno Riolo won first place for the unrated Kindergarten-3rd graders. 
The date and location for the next Lakeshore scholastic tournament have not been announced yet, but I'm planning on helping to direct. I helped out at my first scholastic tournament in March of this year, and found it to be much more rewarding (and more work!) than I anticipated. I remember it as a very fun, energetic day, with lots of families spending time together. WestMichiganChess.com will be one of the first to advertise the date and time of the next scholastic tournament on the Lakeshore, and I highly recommend the experience to any chess afficionado. Crosstable
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