Dalton Girls Dominate in National Chess Championship

The U14 team placed first in the country, representing the 4th consecutive win for this group of girls who have been attending together for the past five years. In addition to the team award, Veda Safranek ’24 placed 14th individually. The Under Ten team placed first in the country with 16 out of a possible 18 points, besting the next closest competitor by 4.5 points. Additionally, four of the U10 girls earned individual trophies for their performances, including Iris Mou ’27, who placed first overall with a perfect score of 6 pts. Lauren Nam ’26, took 7th place, Reese Rutkoske ’27 took 9th place, and Louisa Huston ’26 took 1st place in the U1000 category. The U8 team was the largest ever with five girls and performed solidly, just missing out on a team award, yet playing with great enthusiasm and seriousness. Led by coaches David MacEnulty and Beatriz Marinello, the team demonstrated great esprit de corps in both victory and defeat and celebration of hard work. Additionally, the mentorship of younger players by older ones was a commanding advantage for the Dalton team.

Many of the girls will be participants in upcoming events with the full Dalton chess team, including National Elementary Championship in Nashville in May.