Dalton News

Dalton Competes at National Elementary Chess Championships

Thirty-four Dalton students in Grades K-5 traveled to Columbus, Ohio on May 13-15 to compete in the National Elementary Chess Championships.
Dalton squared off against over 1,000 of the country’s top elementary school chess players, and earned top honors in the K-5 Under-1200 and the K-1 Under-500 sections! Across the board, Dalton nabbed top five team finishes in every section it competed.

Led by Head Coach and Women International Master (WIM) Beatriz Marinello, Dalton’s coaching staff featured a world-class lineup of Grandmaster MacMolner, Grandmaster Alex Lenderman, National Master Akira Nakada, and Chess Expert Nelson Dunn. 

K-5 Championship, Third place
Kevin Stern '29, Henry Nieuwerburgh '29, Aaron Kotchen '29 and Sammy Sen '30

K-5 under 1200 section, First place (five points ahead of second)
Team members: Jamie Wong '29, Michael Warren '30, Callum Vonwiller '30, Anthony Mavroudis '30, Abbott Day '30, and Yardena Nguyen-Vishnevsky '30.

Hannah Chan '30 tied for individual first place (3rd on tiebreaks), Sebi Hemlock '30 finished sixth, and Eden Klein '31 finished 18th

K-3 Championship, Fifth place
Team members: Owen Pang '31, Viaan Barmecha '31, Saarim Khan '31, Calder Smith-Wang '31,  Xander Yaeger '31, Logan Freiman '32, Roman Rubinstein Mash '32 and Eli Stern '32.

Jeremy Tao '31 tied for individual second place (5th on tiebreaks)

K-1 Championship, Third place 
Team members: Elliot Lee '33, Gabe Lavipour '33, Kenzo Phillips '33, Audrey Kotchen '33, and Liam Yao '33

K-1 Under 500 section, First place 
Team members: Mason Olim '33, Rose Chao '33, Andwele Haywood '33, Logan Pang '33, Leo Sarfati '33, and Charlie Yaeger '34.

Two Dalton parents shared their thoughts following this exciting weekend of chess:
 
“As a parent, I have great admiration for the resilience, skill, creativity, and joy that our young Dalton Tigers brought to their matches. I am also extremely grateful to Beatriz and the rest of the coaching team for their wonderful care and dedication over three intense days of chess. The Dalton chess program provides a welcoming and nurturing environment, opportunities for friendships across classes, and abundant team spirit. It is great to see such robust participation in the national elementary competition.”

“It was so heartwarming to see the Dalton team — with 34 students from kindergarten through 5th grade — cheering for each other and learning from the talented and supportive coaches. Their victories were truly a demonstration of their collective effort, resilience, and kindness.”

Go Tigers!
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New York, NY 10128
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