The parents were, as always, very supportive of all the children, even going so far as to arrange lunches and dinners in the team room so we would not have to undergo the stress of foraging for food in a very overcrowded environment.  With over five thousand four hundred children playing in this tournament, plus parents, siblings and coaches, bringing the total invasion to over twelve thousand people, all trying to eat at the same times, we would have had great difficulty managing the nutritional aspect of the tournament.  

Our outside coaching staff continued their stellar performance of analyzing games and preparing our little tigers for the next games.  GM Miron Sher, WGA Alla Grinfeld, WIM Beatriz Marinello, FIDE master Eugene Feldman, and Expert Nelson Dunn were hard-working, dedicated, and brilliant.  This group is simply amazing; I don't know how we could improve on this line-up of coaches. This year has been our best year yet.  At the national tournament in the fall we took home four first place trophies and one second place, we were state champions in all three sections we entered, and now the performance this past weekend.  As no other school in the country can claim this level of performance, it is safe to say that Dalton is the number one chess school in America.

Our team is getting larger and more formidable each year as we add new students and the older ones continue to compete into the middle and high school years.  I am looking forward to next year.  We have a very talented group of kindergartners, and the largest contingent of middle schoolers still playing to date. The Dalton Tiger Chess Team has even further to go.

Story by David MacEnulty
Photos by David MacEnulty