Earning scholarship money during National Chess Day in Chicago
By Jorge Barrera
As the days are growing shorter and the temperatures fall, students from the Chicago metropolitan area gave up part of their weekend to partake in a very special chess tournament. At first, it may have seemed like another routine weekend scholastic tournament, but thanks to sponsorship from SBB Research Group, an investment management firm, many chess players went home with not only trophies, but prize money in the form of bonds for college at a future date. Several schools, which had teams competing, also received a stipend to purchase or upgrade their chess equipment. Moreover, there was also special prize for the best girls in each section to receive money for college.
As usual, the battles were on the chess board, and there were many great games. In the top section, however, Rahul Dhiman had a perfect score and took no time in earning the first place trophy as well as the stipend. Other sections were more competitive. The 5-6th grade section saw a fine last round game between Jacob Furfine and David Wallach. David was a point behind and pressing for a win, because with this game, he would gain 1st place for his section. Yet, David was very short on time, and he ended up having to agree to a draw while having a mate in 8 with 27 seconds left on the clock! Jacob therefore kept his half point advantage to claim 1st place.
In the end, National Chess day in Northbrook was a particularly energized and fun day, as this Renaissance Knights tournament had a great sponsor in SBB Research Group. Undoubtedly, this day will leave a lasting impression, not only the participants, but also their respective schools and class mates.