Chess Champions

SCHS Wins 1st Place at Werribee Secondary Northern Star Chess Interzonal Tournament

Earlier this month, we competed in our first tournament of the year, the Northern Star Chess Zonal hosted by Werribee Secondary on the 4th of March (yes our rivals, of course it had to be them). The tournament ran over 7 rounds of 12-minute games with a 3-second increment, featuring some of the strongest schools in the region including Werribee Secondary, Keilor Downs, and Westbourne Grammar. It also counts as the first of three qualifying opportunities for the Regional Finals later this year.

It was amazing to see such a big Suzanne Cory turnout, especially compared to where we were a few years ago. For a lot of our newer players, this was their first tournament where they made many memories and experiences (I still remember my first one), while our long standing veterans were back to playing old friends and rivals once again.

After seven intense rounds and a couple of tense games, Suzanne Cory finished 1st overall, winning by 1.5 points.

Also, a shoutout to some amazing individual performances:

• I managed to pick up my first Star of the Tournament with 6.5/7!
• Wyn Li finished just behind on 6/7, winning Year 11/12 Gold and in fact coming second overall, well ahead of the rest of the girls’ field.
• Daniel Vu claimed Year 11/12 Bronze with 6/7, in fifth place
• Neil Taak won Year 9/10 Bronze with 5/7

Annika Sharma earned the Girls’ Gold Medal with 4.5/7

It was honestly great to see so many people getting involved and representing the program. I hope to see our players continue to sharpen their skills throughout the year, because we’re only going to get bigger and better from here! Stay tuned in Suzanne Cory, we’re just getting started.

Simran Singh (R6)

President of the Chess Program