2003-2004 Chess Odyssey News
(for 2002-2003 news, click here)

Chess Odyssey students David Rosenbaum and Blake Phillips,
along with Colin Field-Eaton of Tigard High, shared second in the 
high school division at the 2004 Oregon Scholastic Championships

March 13:  Special congratulations to the new 2004 Oregon Scholastic 5th Grade Champion, Chess Odyssey student Daniel Gay!   Daniel (his picture is on our home page) has been a force to be reckoned with on the Oregon chess scene for several years already and will certainly continue to be one for years to come.  Other Chess Odyssey students who brought home trophies from state finals this year, and of whom we are all extremely proud, include:      

David Rosenbaum, 2nd Place, High School Open Section (tied)
Blake Phillips, 2nd Place, High School Open Section (tied)      
Corbin Yu, 3rd Place, High School Open Section (tied)           
Greg Watkins, 3rd Place, High School Open Section (tied)     
Max Ehrenfreund, 3rd Place, 8th Grade Section                    
Joe Tanqueray, 3rd Place, 7th Grade Section                        
Avilash Cramer, 2nd Place, 6th Grade Section                        
Nathan Porter, 3rd Place, 6th Grade Section (tied)               
Dennis Shi, 3rd Place, 6th Grade Section (tied)                    
Carl Cota-Robles, 3rd Place, 6th Grade Section (tied)          
Benjamin Streb, 3rd Place, 6th Grade Section (tied)             
Hari Caushik, 3rd Place, 5th Grade Section                          
Joel Porter, 2nd Place, 4th Grade Section (tied)                   
Mitchel Button, 2nd Place, 4th Grade Section (tied)               

32 Chess Odyssey students qualified in their regionals and played in the Chess for Success state finals on 3/12-13 (click here for the report in The Oregonian).  They included:  David Rosenbaum, Patrick Gay, Daniel Gay, Nathan Porter, Joel Porter, Blake Phillips, Corbin Yu, Avi Cramer, Max Ehrenfreund, Alex Van Rysselberghe, Michael Lee, Neil Evans, Greg Fillmore, Dennis Shi, Benjamin Streb, Carl Cota-Robles, Joel Van Rysselberghe, Charles Ryan Earp, Patrick Wallin, Bowen Mechigian, Zubin Mistry, Colin Yu, Kevin Le, Riley Shearer, John Diebold, Mariah Matthews, Thomas Shearer, Michael Mitasev, Greg Watkins, Brendan Hsu, Eddie Wang and Hari Caushik.  Congratulations! 

Lake Oswego Chess Odyssey students are in the paper again--check the Feb. 26 Lake Oswego Review (p. A-11) for a photo & story about LO kids who qualified at their regional for CFS state finals 3/12-13

January 10:  The 2004 Chess Odyssey Winter Olympics team tournament went forward as planned, despite falling on the tail-end of the worst snow and ice storm in recent Portland-area memory.  We missed our promised start time of 9:15 a.m. by half an hour and appreciate everyone's gracious allowance for acts of God as well as the complications involved in pairing such a tournament.  It was a terrific day!  A total of 26 teams competed, from across Oregon and as far north as Lynden, Washington.  Some teams had alternates, raising total participation to 109, with 25 new USCF memberships.  Many players had never experienced a match-play team tournament such as this before (patterned after the international Chess Olympiad and the U.S. Regional Amateur Team Championships) and it was extremely enthusiastically received.  More than 36 medals were awarded, as well as 17 trophies.  By the way, not everyone picked up their beautiful white and gold participant ribbons--please contact us and we'll be happy to get yours to you.  Thanks to all who came, especially parents, for your support!  Medal/trophy results can be accessed here.  Mark your calendars for our next sponsored competitive event:  Bug Fest 2004, on May 22 (this is short for 'bughouse,' a fun chess variation pitting teams of two against each other).  Once again, please contact us if you need more info.  

November 22:  Congratulations to Chess Odyssey student David Rosenbaum (above) of Portland for winning first in the premiere section at the 2003 Eugene Fall Scholastic!  Update:  David went on to win the Ridgefield Christmas Classic on December 13, and the Buckman Scholastic on January 17 as well!

October 25:  Chess Odyssey's first sponsored tournament, the 2003 Northwest Grade Level Championships, drew 137 excited chess kids and their terrific parents from all over Oregon and Washington.  In the process, United States Chess Federation memberships were increased by 62!  We had a marvelous time, and just about all of the evaluation forms we received (thanks for doing these, folks) indicated you did too.  We learned the valuable lessons that we need to get started earlier (we promise to have first rounds of future events started by 9:15 a.m.) and, if possible, to have the K-2 section in a separate area with their own start times for rounds.  Also, because the 4th grade, 8th grade and High School sections were a bit smaller than necessary to accomplish reasonable pairings, some combining of competitive sections was required.  However, the kids were great sports about it.  Next year we expect to have about 200 participants, and thus no need to combine grades.  

Many thanks to 10-time Oregon Champion NM Clark Harmon for giving a simul!

Below are the trophy winners from 10/25.  A few of the strongest players in attendance had a tough tournament, while some others who were new to chess competition had a pleasant surprise.  Random variables ("luck") and the slightly different nature of a grade level (rather than a rating category event) are possible factors.  Congratulations to all who played, for your fighting spirit and good sportsmanship...regardless of your final result!

Grade Level winners include:

High School
1st -- Corbin Yu (Lake Oswego, OR)
2nd -- Patrick Gay (Tigard, OR)
3rd -- Keegan Knutson (Longview, WA)
4th -- Grant Montgomery (Salem, OR)
5th -- Todd May (Vancouver, WA)

Eighth Grade
1st -- David Breckenridge (Gresham, OR)
2nd -- Max Ehrenfreund (Lake Oswego, OR)
3rd -- Alex Van Rysselberghe (Lake Oswego, OR)
4th -- Gokul Caushik (Portland, OR)
5th -- Celine Hustoles (Salem, OR)

Seventh Grade
1st -- Andy May (Vancouver, WA)
2nd -- Kevin Oliver (Tualatin, OR)
3rd -- Krishnan Warrier (Redmond, WA)
4th -- Ryan Mathisen (Salem, OR)
5th -- Griffin Evans (Salem, OR)

Sixth Grade
1st -- Steven Breckenridge (Gresham, OR)
2nd -- Jonathan Makela (Portland, OR)
3rd -- Jacob Begis (Beaverton, OR)
4th -- Nathan Porter (Lake Oswego, OR)
5th -- Andy Russo (Eugene, OR)

Fifth Grade
1st -- Daniel Gay (Tigard, OR)
2nd -- Yuri Piebenga (Cottage Grove, OR)
3rd -- Vikram Kudva (Beaverton, OR)
4th -- Kamran Hughes (Woodinville, WA)
5th -- Noah Diamond (Portland, OR)

Fourth Grade
1st -- Daniel Ho (Vancouver, WA)
2nd -- Joel Porter (Lake Oswego, OR)
3rd -- Justin Hooker (Veneta, OR)
4th -- Alan Yao (Portland, OR)
5th -- Akash Krishnan (Portland, OR)

Third Grade
1st -- Nevin Taylor (Eugene, OR)
2nd -- Alec Ho (Vancouver, WA)
3rd -- Eddie Wang (Portland, OR)
4th -- Sarah Hannon (Brush Prairie, WA)
5th -- Michael Hughes (Vancouver, WA)

Kindergarten-Second Grade
1st -- Sarah May (Vancouver, WA)
2nd -- Annelise Peake (Portland, OR)
3rd -- Mitchel Button (Corvallis, OR)
4th -- Duncan Wade (Portland, OR)
5th -- Benjamin Pikus (Beaverton, OR)

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