Prospect Hill students take gold and silver at NYS Scholastic Chess Championship
Ari Drucker (left) and Patrick Vitale.
Two Prospect Hill second graders, Ari Drucker and Patrick Vitale, placed first and second for their age group in the 53rd Annual New York State Scholastic Chess Championship, held online for the first time due to the pandemic. After two days and six rounds of hard-fought competitive chess, Drucker scored a perfect six wins to take first place in the competition. Vitale captured second with five wins, one draw and no losses.
Also on the Prospect Hill team in the primary K-3 division was third grader Ethan Teitelbaum, and as a team, Prospect Hill took fifth place. Over 1,100 students from around New York State competed in the tournament. The Pelham students had been practicing weekly with Zoom classes throughout the pandemic and were excited to play in the statewide tournament.
In total, 14 Pelham students played during the weekend, through an online chess server. After each game finished, the students would log into a Zoom team room where chess coach Mike Ellenbogen, who also teaches chess during lunchtime enrichment in the district, and his colleagues, Felix Lopez and Jon Zachary, would go over each game and get the students ready for the next round. The competitors rooted hard for each other, celebrating wins and cheering up teammates after a tough loss.
In past years, the state tournament was held in Saratoga Springs. But like many other activities, it was forced to move online for 2021.
Chess has had a huge boost in popularity over the past year of the pandemic, driven in part by the growth of online chess sites and tournaments, including those aimed at children. Personalized and group online chess lessons have also become popular, especially with people spending more time at home.
The full list of Pelham participants was as follows:
Prospect Hill
- Adam Roman, fifth grade
- Ethan Teitelbaum, third grade
- Ari Drucker, second grade
- Patrick Vitale, second grade
- Drew Rosado, first grade
Colonial
- Anton Berman, first grade
- Xander Berman, third grade
- Edward Spencer, fifth grade
Hutchinson
- Katie Howard, fifth grade
- Quinn Regelmann, third grade
Pelham Middle School
- Kelvin Shehu, seventh grade
- Kieran Normoyle, seventh grade
- Lila Carpenter, sixth grade
- Todd Kermann, sixth grade
For information on the Pelham chess program, reach out to Mike Ellenbogen at [email protected].
Cararose Vitale is a sophomore at Pelham Memorial High School. She is in the school band and plays clarinet. She is a photographer who needs little prompting...
