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Kingsport Times-News
BLOUNTVILLE — A record number of students turned out for the Tri-Cities Christian School fall chess tournament held recently.

A total of 76 students representing 20 regional schools took part in the competition, which was broken into four age brackets. Each student competed both as an individual and as a member of a school or church team.

The tournament was overseen by Candidate Master Steve Owen and many Tri-Cities Christian School parents. Below is a list of winners in each category:

• High School Section (10th through 12th grade) — 1st place: Xuyan Cheng from Farragut High; 2nd: Rithvik Vutukuri from Dobyns-Bennett; 3rd: Mason Hunt from Innovation Academy. Class prizes were also awarded with Simon Burns from Burns Home School, taking first place in the 11th-grade class and David Owen from TCCS and Emily Cross from Providence taking home first and second in the 10th-grade section.

Team trophies were also handed out to schools with the most players in the top five. First place was awarded to Knoxville Chinese Christian Church, second to Dobyns-Bennett and third to TCCS.

• Middle School Section (seventh to ninth grade) — 1st place: Rishita Vutukuri from Sevier Middle School; 2nd: Vijay Ananthula from University School; 3rd: Jeremy Burns from Burns Home School; 4th: David Price from Rogersville Middle; and 5th: Grant Alderson. In the class prizes section, Bo Luff from Providence took home first place in the eighth-grade category, and second went to Noah Janiszewski from Kingsport Christian Academy. In the seventh-grade category, first and second went to Michael Beverly from TCCS and Adam Ryan from University School.

In team trophies, Sevier Middle was awarded first place, University School received second and TCCS captured third.

• Elementary Section (fourth to sixth grade) — 1st place: shared by Allen Feng, who is homeschooled, and Daniel Owen from TCCS; 2nd: Andrew Beal from TCCS; 3rd: Jonathan Burns from Burns Home School; 4th: Om Patel from Indian Trail; and 5th: Justin Li from Knoxville Chinese Christian Church. In the class prize section, Sathvik Ramu from Indian Trail took home first place in the fifth-grade section and Ethan Doherty from TCCS took home second. Austin Price from TCCS and Anjali Ananthula from University school took home first and second in the fourth-grade category.

In the team category, TCCS earned first place, Feng Home School received second and Burns Home school captured third.

• Primary Elementary Section (kindergarten through third grade) — 1st: Jared Li from Knoxville Chinese Christian Church; 2nd: Akshay Vishist from Towne Acres Elementary School; 3rd: Neel Reddy from Lake Ridge; 4th: Tannier Peltier from TCCS; and 5th: Gracie Pierce from TCCS. Class prizes were awarded to Sarah Owen from TCCS and Vishnu Vardhana from Ashley Academy in the second-grade category. Christopher Story from TCCS and Naisha Karakattu from Saint Dominic took home first and second in the first-grade category. Justified-By-Faith Garden and Nayana Vardhana took home first and second in the kindergarten category.

In the team category, first place went to Knoxville Chinese Christian Church, second to TCCS and third to Towne Acres.

University School Students Compete in Chess Tournament

When more than 70 students get together, it is usually a very noisy affair. But that was not the case on Saturday when students from all across the region gathered in silence to put their chess skills to the test.

A record number of students turned out to compete against one another in the East Tennessee Scholastic Chess Tournament which was held Saturday at the Tri-Cities Christian School in Blountville. The school has hosted two tournaments a year since 2014, one in the Spring and another in the Fall.

The tournament was organized by Steve and Polly Owen, the chess coaches at TCCS.

"I think it gives them confidence," Steve said. "There's been studies that show (chess players) score higher on academic studies."

Preparations for the tournament began in October. TCCS Chess Club advertised the tournament on the Tennessee Chess Association website and sent out emails and posts on Facebook.

Polly said the tournament attracts regulars and is getting bigger every time it is played.

Players came from all over the region to play at the tournament. Students came from schools such as Lenoir City High School and Elementary School, Happy Valley High School, Providence Academy, Dobyns Bennett High School, University School, Rogersville Middle School, Innovation Academy, Farragut Middle School, Science Hill High School, Liberty Bell Middle School, Sevier Middle, Boones Creek Middle School, TCCS, and several home schooled students.

The tournament was broken down into four sections.

Primary elementary is for third grade students and below, the elementary section is for students in sixth grade and below, the middle school section consisted of students in grades nine and below and the high school section featured teenagers in grades 10,11 and 12.

The tournament consisted of four games over a four-hour time span. Trophies were set out for first through fifth place in primary elementary, elementary, middle and high school grades. Team trophies were also awarded for first through third place in all four sections. In all, 38 trophies were handed out.

After the tournament was over, the kids had a chance to play a simul game with the state's top ranked player, Forest Chen from Knoxville.

A simul is where the two played 30 players at once. Trophies were handed out for the top six players who gave the best game during the simul.

While winning is the goal, Steve said it is not the winner that always impresses him.

"I'm impressed with the kid that's lost every game and wants to come back and go for more," he said. "That's the guy that's going to be the real player."
© 2016 Kingsport Times-News