Area students fare well in state chess championships
Posted: 04/24/2012 03:00:00 AM EDT
Tuesday April 24, 2012
BRATTLEBORO — Five students from the Brattleboro area competed in the 25th Annual Vermont Scholastic Chess Championships, which was held April 14 in Berlin, Vt.
Shawn Andrews of Halifax tied for first place in the high school division, though he lost the playoff for the title of state champion. This was his fourth year competing in the event, and he improved his standing each year. As a freshman, he finished in 17th place, took 10th place the following year, and fourth place last year.
Younger brother, Lars Andrews, finished in fourth place in the grade 5 division. This was also Lars’ fourth year of participation in the event, and he has finished in the top five in his division each year.
Damian Dierkes of Dummerston competed for the first time, placing seventh in the grade 4 division, which had the most participants of any grade, with 30 players.
Third grader, Alex Shriver of Brattleboro, took second place in his division, while Nico Hessel, also of Brattleboro, finished in fifth place in this division. Both were competing for the second year.
The players are coached by Eric Strickland, who has been running a chess class for youth at the Brattleboro Parks & Recreation Dept. since 2010, in addition to running the evening chess club which meets on Wednesday evenings.
Source: http://www.reformer.com
Nice to see big growth in chess.