Scholastic tournament brings out best youth chess players on St. Thomas
Daily News Staff
Published: December 15, 2011
ST. THOMAS – The second Scholastic Chess Tournament for the school year was held Saturday at Joseph Lockhart Elementary School. Event coordinator and coach Sinclair Wilkinson said more than 60 youth chess players participated in the event and competed in three age divisions from 9-and-under to 13-and-older.
Schools on St. Thomas, along with home-schooled students competed in the tournament, which was sponsored by the Virgin Islands Institute for Teaching and Learning.
Antilles School student William Van Rensselaer won the 13-and-older age division, followed by Jenjoe Canezal of Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School. Charlotte Amalie High School’s Lance Smith was third.
Teon Persuad of Ulla Muller Elementary School took top honors in the 12-and-under age division. Addelita Cancryn Junior High’s Melique Hewelett was second and Manav Thadani of Antilles School was third.
In the 9-and-under age division, Antilles School’s Allessandro Gever and Viren Punjabi took first and second, while Kamden Benjamin of the V.I. Montessori School was third.
Most Improved Student awards went to Antilles School’s Viren Punjabi (9-and-under); Cancryn’s Melique Hewelett (12-and-under); and Ivanna Eudora Kean High’s Ngosi Jones (13-and-older).
Those students who lost just one game and received Honorable Mention awards included Lloyd Joseph, Karen Gauriloff, Sharon Chawla, Shawn Attika, Akoya Peterson and Kymari Williams.
This was an individual tournament with play in four rounds. Each round lasted no more than one hour as prizes were awarded to the top three players in each age group. For more information, call Wilkinson at 514-7054.
That’s good news.