High School State Team Championship

Newport takes 1st in King County, shares 1st in WA State!

The 2018 High School Washington State Team Chess Championship took place in Interlake High School

in Bellevue on March 2-3, 2018.  It's the central annual event of the Washington State school chess life.

The board order (1 to 5) of each school team is constant: board 1 the strongest player, board 2 the next

strongest player, and so on. Some schools had more than one team, e.g. Team A and Team B.

The 28 participant teams were selected according to the results of the chess league in their respective

counties, a great achievement in itself.

Naomi's Newport High School Team A took first place in King County!  Congratulations!

Before that, Newport High took 1st in King County only once, in 2013, with Naomi's brother Ethan.

And then ... drumroll ...

Naomi's Newport High School Team A shared first place in WA State!  Double congratulations!

Before that, Newport High took 1st in WA State only once, in 2014, also with Naomi's brother Ethan.

Newport A winners: Gabriel Tafalla, Ronen Huang, Luke Xie, Naomi Bashkansky (Joseph Truelson is absent)

Photo Album: High School WA State Team Championship

Remarkably, Gabriel Tafalla from Newport A got 5 out of 5 possible points, playing on board 3.  

A statistically improbable event has occurred -- FIVE high school teams (each with 5 players) each took exactly

18 points after 5 rounds and shared 1st place: Newport A, Garfield A, Interlake A, Bellevue, Lakeside.

It's a strong tournament. The players on the first boards in the winning schools all have high USCF ratings:

Garfield A - Roland Feng (2481), Lakeside A - Bryce Tiglon (2472), Newport A - Luke Xie (2159), Interlake A -

Derek Zhang (2150), Bellevue - Wenyang Du (1955), and the runner-up Inglemoor - Kyle Haining (2262).

In short, all Washington State high school chess stars were here!  Here's the winning teams collective photo:

5 teams -- Newport A, Garfield A, Interlake A, Bellevue, Lakeside A -- share 1st place

Photo Album: High School WA State Team Championship

To play for the school, Naomi and many other participants had to forgo a very interesting tournament with 3 (!)

Grandmasters especially invited to our state. Games with Grandmasters would look impressive on the chess

players' resumes.  That tournament was held at the same time in the Seattle Chess Club.

***

However, on the eve of March 1, the Seattle Chess Club hosted lectures of the three Grandmasters:

- GM Andrey Gorovets: "How to improve the pieces"

- GM Julio Sadorra: "My Secrets in Conducting an Effective Attack"

- GM Yaroslav Zherebukh: "How to do the impossible: reflections on beating world’s #3 and losing to 1200"

Photo Album: Seattle Super Masters - GM Lectures & Blitz

The lectures were followed by a blitz tournament, where Naomi played with GM Yaroslav Zherebukh:

It was a glorious, cherishable defeat -- see GM Zherebukh vs WIM Bashkansky blitz video.

King County Council proclamation recognizes Naomi as World Chess Champion

Last month Naomi won the World School Chess Championship, Girls Under 13.  Back home, she turned into a media star.  The stardom snowball became self-sustainable, with a newspaper article leading to another, then to a TV story, and then even to the local government attention.

The King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci decided to read a proclamation recognizing Naomi's achievement.  Her Chief of Staff Krista Camenzind organized this event diligently.  On January 30 at 1:15pm Claudia met Naomi and our whole family.

At 1:30pm at the Council Chambers, Claudia introduced Naomi, read some background notes and the proclamation, and Naomi had the opportunity to say a statement as part of the meeting.  The Council gave Naomi the proclamation and took a few photos. The Council issued a press release later that day.

Councilmember Balducci's talking points

• I am pleased to recognize Naomi Bashkansky today for her win last month in the 2016 World School Chess Championship in the Girls Under 13 category in Sochi, Russia.

• This is one of many competitions Naomi has won and it earned her the title of Woman FIDE Master from the World Chess Federation, which is a step along the way to becoming a Grandmaster.

• Naomi is known for her aggressive playing style.  She was quoted in the Seattle Times saying “You try to get in a better position so that you keep crushing the opponent, and squeezing them.”

• Naomi’s goal is to become a Woman’s Grandmaster or International Master by the time she finishes high school.  There are currently 1598 male grandmasters and only 33 female grandmasters so I hope she reaches her goal and inspires more girls to follow her example.

• In addition to the traditional trophy and certificate, Naomi also given a coat-of-arms pen from Vladimir Putin.  That is certainly not something many other American’s have in their homes!

• As the parent of a child about Naomi’s age, I know that her parents are integral to her success.  I want to recognize her father and mother.  Their enthusiastic support for their daughter shows in her success.

• They use Naomi’s many trips to international chess competitions as opportunities for family vacations, going to Brazil, Mexico, Greece, Russia and other places.  When they travel, the make sure to leave the chess board behind once in awhile to explore and enjoy the cities they visit.

• Naomi's father and mother, who are now raising two great kids in the Bellevue public school system, are outstanding examples of the types of people who make Bellevue and King County a diverse and thriving place.

Proclamation

WHEREAS, Naomi Bashkansky, a resident of Bellevue and student at Odle Middle School, won the 2016 World School Chess Championship in the girls under 13 category in Sochi, Russia on December 12, 2016; and

WHEREAS, Naomi was undefeated with four draws and five wins, playing against girls from Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan; and

WHEREAS, With this win, Naomi earned the title of Woman FIDE Master from the World Chess Federation and has been invited to the 2017 World School Chess Championship in Romania; and

WHEREAS, Naomi is known for her aggressive play and strategy of squeezing her opponents; and

WHEREAS, Greg Serper, a chess grandmaster, is Naomi’s coach and helps realize her chess potential; and

WHEREAS, Naomi’s parents, Guy and Ludmila, and her older brother, Ethan, regularly travel the world so she can compete at international events;

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Metropolitan King County Council, recognize and salute

Naomi Bashkansky

for her extraordinary accomplishment and outstanding achievement in world chess and hope that she will continue to enjoy competitive chess and one day be a grandmaster.

DATED this thirtieth day of January, 2017.

Naomi's statement

Thank you Councilmember Balducci for the proclamation. When I won the last round, I was just happy that I had an excuse for barely doing any of the homework I'd been given--I certainly hadn't imagined all this amazing recognition I'm getting. I'm grateful to my coach Greg Serper, who has trained me for years and prepared me in between games; to my parents, who organize everything while also making sure I get some fresh air outside before each game; and to everyone who encouraged me during the beginning of the tournament, when I hadn't been playing very well, most notably my brother Ethan. I wouldn't be standing here without them.

Photo album: King County Council recognizes Naomi as World Chess Champion

Videos from my smartphone (left, with subtitles) and the official broadcast (right, better sound + transcript):

The official press release: http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/news/2017/January/01-30-CB-Chesschamp.aspx

The group photo of Naomi and her family, Claudia and other Councilmembers, H.G. Pitre and Josh Sinanan:

The King County TV broadcast with the meeting agenda, start at 1:45: http://king.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=6303

We are the champions!

Newport High School chess team wins Washington High School State Team Championship, squeezing ahead by mere 0.5 point!  Ethan wins 5 out of 5 games.

Setting

The 2014 Washington State High School State Team Championship was held on Friday, February 28 and Saturday, March 1, at Issaquah High School.  Not much of a travel (less than 20 minutes ride), however a lot of chess for this blog's sake!

The format was 5 round Swiss system tournament of 5 player teams with 2 optional reserves.  The board order (1 to 5) of each team was constant: board 1 the strongest player, board 2 the next strongest player, and so on. 

Computer pairing and the place of finish were by team point system (one point per board, all board scores count).  Teams from the same league (e.g. King County) were not paired in the early rounds when possible.  

Time control with five second delay - Round 1: 60 minutes, Rounds 2-5: 90 minutes. 
Friday rounds: 4pm and 7pm, Saturday rounds: 9am, 1pm, 5 pm, awards at 8:30 pm.

Drama

In the final round, Newport squeezed ahead by mere 0.5 point! 

Here is Ethan's description of the dramatic events unfolding: 

"Coming to the final round, Newport was 1.5 points ahead of Interlake. 2 points for Newport wins 1st place, 1.5 points for Newport wins 2nd place. The match started. An hour later, Newport’s boards 4 (John Leece) and 5 (Steven Han) had already lost. 

Sometime later, board 2 (Ethan Bashkansky) won, and Newport needed just a point more. Then, board 1 (Megan Lee) lost, and all our hopes rested on Michael Quan, our 3rd board. Will we win?

Michael and his opponent, Quentin Chi, both had a couple of minutes, a pair of rooks, but while Quentin had 2 pawns, Michael had 3 pawns on the other side of the board. Michael kept calm, and after a nail biting game watched by more than 50 spectators, Newport finally won, and everyone hugged Michael."

Awards

Here are my photos before (Issaquah High School gym), during (IHS lobby) and after (Shanghai Garden Restaurant) the award ceremony:

Photos: 2014_03_01 Newport WA HS Team Chess Champions

And here is one great photo of the Champion Team:

Left to right: Steven, Ethan, John, Megan, Michael

Also congratulations to the previous 4 years champion Lakeside High School in second place, and Interlake High School in third.

Washington State Chess Team Championship

Local high school teams brawl: Newport and Lakeside duke it out at Interlake

Ethan (9th grade freshman) played with the Newport High School Chess Club team in the Washington State Chess Team Championship on February 8 and 9, 2013.  The team captain was WFM Megan Lee (11th grade junior).

Day 1

Unrelated to the championship, on February 8 the Newport team has been awarded the King County Trophy which the Newport Chess Club earned by participating in the King County Chess League.

Photos: 2013-02-08 Washington State Chess Team Championship King Co Trophy

Day 2

Photos: 2013-02-09 Washington State Chess Team Championship Award Ceremony

The Lakeside High School chess team has totally dominated the state championship and won first place.

Lakeside team

The Newport High School chess team got a smaller trophy.

Newport team