||| FROM RANDY KAECH, TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR |||
The first Island – San Juan – Skagit Regional Chess Championships is in the books! Congrats to all 35 players who were fortunate enough to participate, make history and enjoy wild adventures in the 64-square jungle. And a special congrats to:
Lamai Hons of Orcas island HS, High School Grand Champion
Hugo Thompson of Spring Street International School (Friday Harbor), Middle School Grand Champion
Orcas Island High School Chess Team, 1st Place HS Team, qualified for State
Coupeville High School Chess Team, 2nd Place HS Team, qualified for State
Anacortes Middle School, 1st Place MS Team
Oak Harbor Intermediate School, 2nd Place MS Team
Special thanks to the Anacortes High School Math Team, Nat Peterson advisor, for hosting the tournament.
For info on the upcoming middle school tournaments in Whatcom County, bookmark northwestchess.info
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Well done! I was fifth board (out of five) on the Ballard High School chess team when we won all-city in Seattle in 1972… the first time since 1936… then quit the game due to starting to skip school to study chess openings. Of course we had the Bobby Fischer / Spassky games practically on the front page of our newspapers, back then, to serve as encouragement. There was a kid who hung out at the Last Exit coffee shop, playing speed chess back in the 70s when I was at the University of Washington… who soon became an international grandmaster (Yasser Seirawan). Fun times…