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.