by Jakub Stiles
The first annual LCS Chess Tournament organized by Mr. Theo Wilhelm, Mr. Troy Duffield, Mr. Michael Foxmann, and Mrs. Erin Foxmann, started on the 15th of March and ended on the 19th of April. This tournament was happening across 3 divisions Elementary, Middle school, High school, plus staff.
The way that the tournament worked was that each division played out in a typical tournament style with 4 winners: Elementary School Champion - Jiro Van Eijk Karabulut, Middle School Champion - Noah Pfletziger, High School Champion: Luis Pfletziger and Staff Champion: Derek Lyndes.
These four players played in an ultimate chess tournament against each other to determine the LCS Grandmaster. Mr. Derek Lyndes and Jiro Van Eijk Karabulut, both lost their games so they were out of the ultimate tournament. In the finale, the two competitors were brothers. As an hour and a half-long match took place, Luis Pfletziger won against his younger brother Noah Pfletziger. Luis Pfletziger became our first LCS Grandmaster. He described the tournament as “unforgettable” and “filled with suspense”. Luis said that the different tactics that went through his mind after every move were overwhelming, and included, for example, the Queen's Gambit or the King's Indian.
This LCS Chess tournament will be happening annually, say the organizers, as in this first year it had over 20 contenders. Many more people are looking forward to the tournament next year (although, thanks to the first one's success, there are talks there might be one more happening this school year).
