K-5 team 3rd in State, K-12 team 7th in State

MCDS had two qualifying teams, K-5 & K-12, as well as an individual in the K-1, in the Florida State Scholastic Chess Championship held in Tampa this April. Upper School Coach Peter Konen & I travelled with the team and were proud of the accomplishments of the Miami Country Day School students.

The K-5 team of Elliot Starkman, James Srebnick, Grant Giovannetti, Filippo Sbroggio, Elliot Surnamer, Sean Finny, & Jackson Jimenez scored 16 points and brought back a 3rd Place trophy in a highly competitive section, finishing only 1.5 points out of 1st Place. Individual honors were earned by two Spartan players: Elliot Starkman won 5 of his 6 matches to finish in 5th Place overall, and James Srebnick performed over 500 points above his current rating to bring home a 9th Place individual trophy. I can still hear the roar from the Spartan team room when he came back from his final round match. These Spartans have worked hard this year and can reflect on a season full of improvement and successes.

 The K-12 team of Pascal Dafinis, Julian Schultz, David Gonzalez, Andre Harper-Rosenberg (6th grader joining the high school team), and Matthew Cohen finished in 7th Place. Dafinis, Schultz, & Gonzalez led the Spartan scoring with a score of 3.0/6.0. Dafinis had a remarkable game against a much higher-rated opponent and posted his game here. Pascal offers insightful ideas for discussion and shows how he was able to perform well against a player that tied for 8th Place in the tournament.

First-grader Chase Giovannetti represented MCDS in the K-1 section and earned a plus score. Chase qualified individually based on his exceptional performance at the South Regional held earlier in the year.

Spartans Shine at SuperNationals V!

During the weekend of April 5th-7th, fourth graders Elliot Starkman, Grant Giovannetti, James Srebnick, and Filippo Sbroggio traveled to Nashville, TN, for SuperNationals V, to compete in the K-5 Championship section. This tournament attracts the best chess players and teams throughout the nation and was officially the largest rated chess competition in history. The Spartan National Team shined by winning an impressive 19th Place trophy in the K-5 Championship section. There were 120 teams in the K-5 categories that included many highly-rated 5th graders. While being the highest finishing school from Florida in the section, they were also the fourth-highest finishing team with only four players. This adds to the other fantastic accomplishments of this team of four. You may recall their 3rd Place trophy from the National Grade Level Championships held in Orlando in November. They were also the 1st Place K-5 team in the 2013 SuperSouth Regional Championships in Miami. They, along with Jackson Jimenez & Elliot Surnamer, will represent MCDS in the K-5 section of the State Scholastic Chess Championship to be held in Tampa at the end of the month. Chase Giovannetti also participated in the K-1 section and scored multiple wins. He will also compete in Tampa later this month. We look forward to the K-5 & K-12 team performances at the Florida State Scholastic Chess Championship!

MCDS Rosters for Super South Regional Chess Tournament

Below are the rosters for the Spartan Chess Team as of 1/8/13.  Please let Mr. Hutsko know right away if you think there is an inaccuracy.

December Spartan Chess Update

November & December was a very busy, and successful, month for the Spartan Chess Team!

4th Grade Team Finishes in Third Place at the National Grade Level Championships!

The MCDS 4th Grade National Team of Elliot Starkman, Grant Giovannetti, James Srebnick, & Filippo Sbroggio traveled to Orlando early this month to compete in the 2012 National Grade Level Championships held by the United States Chess Federation.  They demonstrated that they were among the best 4th grade teams in the nation by finishing in 3rd Place!  Without a doubt, this has been the highest achievement earned by the Spartan Chess Team, and their effort & success is impressive.  This finish was against the strongest chess teams in the nation, including the best from New York, Louisiana, Florida, Arizona, & Texas.  Congratulations to our Spartan Team!  For additional photos of the victory celebration, visit 4th Grade National Team photos.

Individual honors were also earned by Elliot Starkman for his 11th Place finish overall and Grant Giovannetti for finishing in 1st Place in his rating class (1000-1199).  There is no doubt that this will be a team to reckon with at the upcoming regional and state competitions as well as SuperNationals V to be held in Nashville.

Spartans Bring Home Four Team Trophies from Epicure Grand Prix #3! 

It was a proud day for the Spartans as they continued their chess success by earning four team trophies at the third tournament in the Epicure Grand Prix at Miami Country Day chess series on December 8th.  Two of those trophies were for 1st Place!

The K-12 team earned 1st Place honors behind another superb, MVP effort from Julian Schultz.  He finished in 2nd Place overall in an impressive field and raised his rating by almost 300 points!  David Gonzalez continued his successful season with a 3.0/5.0 performance, raising his rating almost 100 points!  Giovanni Cragnotti & Pascal Dafinis also earned two points to help the Spartans to victory.  

The 1st Place K-5 team was led by strong performances Filippo Sbroggio & Sean Finny, both scoring 3.0/5.0 and tying for 10th Place individually.  Jackson Jimenez did well, scoring 2.5 points and raising his rating.  Nikolay Bespalenko also earned 2.5 points for the Spartan team.  Nathan Gumenick had a win and a draw.  MCDS would also like to welcome new player Daniel Espinal who scored 1.5 points in his first-ever USCF-rated tournament!

For the first time in the history of the Epicure Grand Prix, the MCDS fielded a K-1 team that finished in 3rd Place!  The team was led by 1st Place individual winner 1st Grader Chase Giovannetti!  The team also welcomed two new members to the team, Jacob Korff & Matthew Williamson.  We are proud to have them as a part of team and they represented MCDS well.  

The K-8 team won a 3rd Place trophy.  Andre Harper-Rosenberg, Elliot Starkman* & Grant Giovannetti* led the Spartan scoring with 3.0/5.0.    Daniel Gallup raised his rating more than 150 points with an impressive day, defeating two higher-rated players.  James Srebnick* also scored two points in the competition.  

Other Tournament News

Chase Giovannetti continued his dominance in the K-1 category with a 1st Place victory at the PCS Grand Prix held in Doral on December 15.  He also brought home the 1st Place trophy from the Pine Crest School Grand Prix held in early November.  Chase also competed at the 2012 National Grade Level Championships in Orlando.  

In additional to his play at the National Grade Level Championships and the Epicure Grand Prix, Grant Giovannetti* raised his rating over the past six weeks at the Pine Crest School Grand Prix, the 11th Annual Turkey Bowl held in Coral Springs, and the PCS Grand Prix held in Doral.  

Upcoming tournaments include the 2013 Super South Regional on the weekend of January 12-14 and Epicure Grand Prix #4 of January 19th.  

* denotes that the player is optionally playing in a higher-aged category.

Epicure Grand Prix #2 at Miami Country Day

Epicure Grand Prix #2 saw almost 200 participants in the Franco Center on Saturday, October 20th, for its second chess tournament of the year. That included 21 Spartans in all five sections. Players were welcomed with the site of 100 brand new chess boards and triple-weighted sets on which to play, compliments of our friends at Epicure Gourmet Market & Café. A special thanks goes out to the Starkman Family for continuing their extraordinary commitment to the growth of chess in the MCDS community and the rest of South Florida.

MCDS brought home four team trophies and welcomed two brand new members to the team!

Congratulations to the K-12 team and coaches Peter Konen and Vlad Yanovsky for their first, and decisive, victory of the year in the high school section. David Gonzalez led the Spartans with 3.5/5.0 and tied for 4th Place, increasing his rating almost 100 points in a single tournament and accumulating an increase of over 450 points in less than a year. We will have to go to the MCDS chess archives to see the last time a high school player has experienced that much of a jump in that period of time. I have a feeling we won’t find one. Julian Schultz (3.0/5.0) also played well for the Spartans along with Cristian Padilla & Pascal Dafinis (both 2.5/5.0). Additionally, Jacob Strouse increased his rating at this tournament.

The young K-8 team took 3rd Place and put forth a stronger performance than the last tournament. Elliot Starkman earned 3.5/5.0 to lead the Spartan scoring. Grant Giovannetti, James Srebnick, and Andre Harper-Rosenberg all earned 3.0/5.0, and Filippo Sbroggio had two wins.

The K-5 team finished in 3rd Place, improving from their 4th Place finish last month. Jackson Jimenez earned 3.0 points to lead Spartan scorers and improve his rating over 100 points. Nikolay Bespalenko, Elliot Surnamer, and Nathan Gumenick scored multiple points to help the Spartan team. Olivia Borchers also increased her rating at this tournament.

The Spartans welcomed new players Thomas Robert & Matias Hernandez to rated chess tournaments as the K-3 team earned a 5th Place trophy. Jamie Surnamer led the team scoring with two points. Tucker Gumenick also increased his rating at this tournament.

Chase Giovannetti brought home his second individual trophy of the year in the K-1 section. In the Open section, GM Julio Becerra won his second tournament in a row, narrowly defeating National Master Ernesto Alvarez by only half of a point.

The 4th Grade Team of Starkman, Srebnick, Giovannetti, & Sbroggio will head to Orlando at the end of November to take part in the 2012 National Grade Level Championships. Epicure Grand Prix #3 will take place on December 8. We hope to see you there!

Report Submitted By, Michael Hutsko Spartan Chess Program Director South Regional Vice President, Florida Chess Association USCF Local Tournament Director

Epicure Grand Prix #1, 9/29/12

The first tournament of the Epicure Grand Prix chess tournament series took place in the Franco Center this past Saturday. MCDS welcomed 187 participants of all ages from the South Florida area. Actually, I came to learn that not everyone was from nearby. I spoke with one student who said his family made the drive here from Jacksonville. Skeptical, I asked his parents, and they confirmed the location of their domicile. Looks like someone really loves his chess! Also, while Grandmaster Julio Becerra has competed on our campus before, this is the first time he has participated in an Epicure event. GM Becerra went undefeated in the Open section.

There were 21 Spartans collectively in the five age-based sections, composing three teams in the K-12, K-8, & K-5 categories.

The Spartan K-12 team (upper school) finished in 3rd Place. Julian Schultz had a career-best day and played remarkably well (4.0/5.0), finishing in 4th Place overall (in a tough section) as well as taking home the trophy (& gift card) for the best performance by a player rated under 1000. Needless to say, he’s now rated above 1000 and becomes the high school team’s third Class E player. David Gonzalez & Giovanni Cragnotti also played well for the Spartans, scoring 2.5/5.0, and Pascal Dafinis & Jordan Rosendorf had two points and increased their ratings at this event. The team also welcomed newcomer Jacob Strouse.

The K-8 team finished in 3rd Place. Elliot Starkman led the team scoring with 3.5/5.0, finishing tied for 8th Place. Andre Harper-Rosenberg also played well for the Spartans, scoring 3.0/5.0. Grant Giovannetti (welcome to the MCDS team!), James Srebnick, & Filippo Sbroggio earned 2.5 points, and Daniel Gallup also had multiple wins. It should be noted that most of this team is “playing up.” Fourth-graders Starkman, Giovannetti, Srebnick, & Sbroggio are eligible to play in the younger K-5 section, but they have decided to play in an older and higher rated category.

The K-5 team finished in 4th Place. This team welcomed four new MCDS team members. We would like to extend a special welcome to Jackson Jimenez, Nikolay Bespalenko, Sean Finny, & Olivia Borchers. Jimenez returned to rated chess competition after a two-year hiatus and scored two points. Bespalenko & Finny exceeded expectations with two wins in their first-ever rated chess competitions! Borchers & Nathan Gumenick also scored a point for the team in the event. It will be exciting to see this team grow.

Chase Giovannetti took home the second individual trophy won by a Spartan at this event, finishing in 3rd Place in the K-1 section. Congratulations & welcome to MCDS! The Spartans were also represented by Oliver Perez & Tucker Gumenick in the K-3 section.

If you are interested in a more detailed breakdown of the results, please visit http://www.bocachess.com/epicure-grand-prix. A special thank you to Epicure Gourmet Market & Café for continuing to serve as our Sponsor and helping making this the best chess tournament series in Florida.

Epicure Grand Prix #2 will take place on Saturday, October 20. Anyone interested in registering for the event should contact me.

Michael Hutsko Spartan Chess Program Director South Regional Vice President, Florida Chess Association USCF Local Tournament Director 601 NE 107 Street | Miami, FL 33161 305.779.7341 office | 305.759.0684 fax hutskom@miamicountryday.org

2012 FCA South Regional Quick Chess Qualifier Results

SwissSys Standings. 2012 FCA South Regional Quick Chess Qualifier: OPEN

#	Name	ID	Rtng	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Tot	TBrk[M]	TBrk[S]	Prize
1	FM CARLOS E MENA	14854553	2400	W23	W13	W11	W7	W5	5.0	13	15	204.75/Trophy
2	NICHOLAS ROSENTHAL	13075378	2065	H---	W17	W20	W14	W6	4.5	11.5	11.5	182.81/Trophy
3	MIGUEL FONSECA	13274297	1854	W27	L5	W16	W31	W12	4.0	11.5	13.5	135.28/Trophy
4	VLAD YANOVSKY	12812415	1925	W36	W18	L6	W25	W11	4.0	11	12	135.28
5	NM ROBERT PEREZ	12913092	2423	W16	W3	W12	D6	L1	3.5	15.5	18
6	CM JEFFREY HASKEL	12744467	2117	W28	W15	W4	D5	L2	3.5	15	17.5
7	ADAM KUTIKOFF	13387003	1929	W22	W26	W14	L1	D8	3.5	14	16
8	JORDANYS DIEZ JJDG	14492677	1818	D32	W10	D31	W24	D7	3.5	11.5	13
9	JUAN CORTES JR	14491460	1339	L12	D39	W32	W19	W17	3.5	9.5	10	54.84
10	FRANK CASTILLO	12724125	1315	H---	L8	W40	W30	W20	3.5	9	9	54.84
11	CM JUAN CAMILO ARANGO	13229902	2006	W34	W19	L1	W15	L4	3.0	14.5	16
12	JORGE REYNALDO	13176296	1963	W9	W24	L5	W13	L3	3.0	14	16
13	KEVIN M MC DONALD	12397775	1744	W21	L1	W28	L12	W26	3.0	13	15
14	MIGUEL RECIO	13774212	2116	W33	W25	L7	L2	W24	3.0	12	13.5
15	JOHN SALISBURY	12846023	1732	W35	L6	W23	L11	W25	3.0	10.5	12
16	LAUREN KLEIDERMACHER	14339851	1427	L5	W27	L3	D21	W32	2.5	8	13.5
17	JOHN GILLET	12831985	1619	D40	L2	W18	W33	L9	2.5	7.5	13
18	ROMMEL CONCEPCION	14621405	1113	W30	L4	L17	D22	W34	2.5	7	12.5	54.84
19	JOSE MACHADO	13635137	1603	W29	L11	D33	L9	W23	2.5	7	12
20	PETER TOROCSIK SR	12533916	1694	H---	W32	L2	W26	L10	2.5	7	11.5
21	CARLOS A HOYOS	14676260	1278	L13	L23	W29	D16	W33	2.5	6.5	11	54.84
22	ANTHONY LEYVA	13155331	1315	L7	W38	L24	D18	W35	2.5	6	10
23	BHARAT CHANDAR	14024545	1392	L1	W21	L15	W27	L19	2.0	10	15
24	CARLOS D HOYOS	14676301	1452	W39	L12	W22	L8	L14	2.0	9	12.5
25	DERECK LAUREANO	12785558	1703	W37	L14	W34	L4	L15	2.0	8.5	12.5
26	MOSHE LIBBIN	14024518	1436	W38	L7	W36	L20	L13	2.0	7	10.5
27	DANIEL GOLDFARB	14024503	1311	L3	L16	W37	L23	W39	2.0	6	10
28	ADRIEN PITCHMAN	14024498	1371	L6	W35	L13	W36	U---	2.0	5.5	9
29	DAVID BRENNER	12622025	1164	L19	L34	L21	W38	W36	2.0	5.5	8
30	BRUCE KUTIKOFF	13474224	1584	L18	L36	W39	L10	W37	2.0	5	8.5
31	DAVID A RAYMOND	10231841	1694	H---	W40	D8	L3	U---	2.0	4.5	8.5
32	DARIO MARTIN	14332527	1284	D8	L20	L9	W39	L16	1.5	9	12.5
33	MARCOS MARTINEZ	13459212	1350	L14	W37	D19	L17	L21	1.5	8.5	11.5
34	BRANDON STOYANOVICH	14515232	1347	L11	W29	L25	D35	L18	1.5	8	11
35	KEVIN ORDET	14492017	1230	L15	L28	W38	D34	L22	1.5	7	10
36	JUSTIN KLEIDERMACHER	14207464	1315	L4	W30	L26	L28	L29	1.0	8.5	12.5
37	FRANCISCO G DURAN	14946284	1173	L25	L33	L27	W40	L30	1.0	6.5	8.5
38	ALEJANDRO RAVELO	14920982	965	L26	L22	L35	L29	B---	1.0	5.5	8
39	LAURA ALONSO	13777102	1055	L24	D9	L30	L32	L27	0.5	7.5	11
40	ALBERT KATZ	14316218	1170	D17	L31	L10	L37	U---	0.5	6	9.5

SwissSys Standings. 2012 FCA South Regional Quick Chess Qualifier: SCHOLASTIC

#	Name	ID	Rtng	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Tot	TBrk[M]	TBrk[S]	Prize
1	ALEX M CHEN	14718243	905	W8	W5	W4	W3	L2	4.0	13.5	15.5	Trophy
2	ANDRE HARPER-ROSENBERG	14229877	860	W9	L4	W12	W10	W1	4.0	10	11	Trophy
3	RAMYA REDDY	14213761	930	H---	W7	W5	L1	W4	3.5	12	12	Trophy
4	RAGHAV VENKAT	14668233	947	W6	W2	L1	W7	L3	3.0	14	16
5	JULIAN SCHULTZ	14028224	869	W12	L1	L3	W11	W7	3.0	11.5	12.5
6	FILIPPO SBROGGIO	14366542	723	L4	L10	W8	W12	X11	3.0	7.5	7.5
7	TIFFANY BERNARDO	14281892	738	W11	L3	W10	L4	L5	2.0	9.5	13
8	JENNIFER HOYOS	14726588	679	L1	D11	L6	D9	W12	2.0	7	11
9	MIKAYIL NEYMATOV	14789086	611	L2	L12	L11	D8	W10	1.5	6.5	10.5
10	BHAVESHSAI REDDY	14458377	587	H---	W6	L7	L2	L9	1.5	6	10
11	RENE LEIVA	14777983	567	L7	D8	W9	L5	F6	1.5	5.5	8.5
12	TONY BERNARDO	14254577	676	L5	W9	L2	L6	L8	1.0	9	13