End of the Month - January Edition

With a new year comes a new cycle of our End of the Month tournaments! The EOM continues to be a highly popular internal tournament with many regulars being joined by a big batch of newcomers seeking their first tournament experience. This meant we had a near full house for the C/D group and a full house for the A/B group on the first leg of the Winter Cycle on 25 January.

The EOM is always played in a fun and relaxed atmosphere where the goal is to get our students ready for bigger tournaments. For many students, this is a chance to meet their peers from other group classes with friendship and comradery coming first. This was also the case last Sunday with our newest Caissa family member coach Nomi spotting a lot of smiles! Over the years, the tournament has become increasingly stronger with some of our strongest students in the mix. This only makes it more interesting for everyone involved!

Now, let’s also have a look at the actual chess! In the C/D group, it was Ernest Ye who took the honours home. Freshly promoted out of the D-group, he only allowed a draw in the third round and clinched first place with 4.5/5. Kiet Le Tu was one of a trio chasing Ernest with 4/5, with the best tiebreak, he finished in second place overall and first place of the D-group. Alston Liao and Sheldon completed the podium for the C-group, while Elliot Liu and Winston Ng took the silver and bronze medal for the D-group home.

In the A/B group with 33 players, only Spencer Sun and Bloomberg Chan had a perfect score after three games. Bloomberg faced Spencer with the White pieces in the fourth round and after an exciting battle with chances for both players, Bloomberg managed to score the full point. He completed his perfect streak with a fifth straight win and became the well deserved winner! Jayden Luk and newcomer Abigail Lam followed in second and third place with 4/5. Also at 4/5, we can find Alexander Tu, another new addition to the EOM. With this score, he clinched first place in the B-group. Daniel Yang and Glenn Kade Lo finished in second and third place with 3/5.

Congratulations to all the winners and see you in Discovery Bay on Sunday 22 February for the second leg!