Berkeley Bishops Prevail at St. Mark's
On Saturday February 4, 2006, the Berkeley Chess School team the "Berkeley Bishops" played their second match of the season against a team from St Mark's School in San Raphael. Seventeen Bishops battled it out for 3 hours against their opponents. The Bishops prevailed and look forward to the return match in Berkeley. (St Mark's, of course, is one school, whereas the Bishops are chosen from many schools, which gives the Bishops an edge.)
The Berkeley Bishops team played their first match on November 10, 1984 in Berkeley against the Orange County "Wizards". Over the years they had many memorable matches both in Berkeley and Los Angeles. The students on that first team eventually formed the Berkeley High School team that won the State Championship for three of their four high school years, the other winner being College Prep, whose number one board was also a "Bishop".
In the early nineties the Bishops played against a combination team of Weibel and Mission San Jose, and in the years following, the annual Weibel v Bishops match became a staple for preparing students for the State Championships.
In the year 2000 the Bishops traveled to Straffan, Ireland for a match against the All-Ireland under-14 Champions and the Irish team played the return match in Berkeley in 2001. The name "Berkeley Bishops" was chosen originally because Berkeley was named after an Irishman Bishop Berkeley and the Berkeley Chess School was founded by an Irishwoman, Elizabeth Shaughnessy. Most of today's Berkeley Bishops are not from Berkeley.
The Bishops proudly boast alumni David Pruess and Andy Lee, both masters by High School and currently founders of the East Bay Chess Club, Jon Ludwig Hammer, Junior Champion of Norway, Daichi Siegrist, Junior Champion of Japan, Monty Peckham, High School State Champion, Alexander Setzephandt member of the Pressman All American Team for three consecutive years and many others too numerous to mention. The philosophy of the Berkeley Chess School -- to share the joy of chess with as many young people as possible -- is embodied in its Berkeley Bishops Team where emphasis is on the act of competing in a pleasant and civilized environment rather than on the results.
