On December 8th and 9th, sixty-two BCS students competed in this year’s CalChess Grade-Level State Championship, held at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. In this tournament, players compete within their grade for individual, school, and club prizes.  BCS fielded club teams in every grade (except 9th, 11th, and 12th grades)

Our small but mighty kindergarten team finished in second place. Sivavishnu Srinivasan actually tied for first place, and is this year’s Kindergarten State Co-Champion! 

Our 5th grade and 8th grade teams also did fantastically well, even though these were two of the most competitive sections. Each earned first place in the club section!! 

Players in grades K-3 played 5 games on Saturday. Players in grades 4-12 played 3 games on Saturday and 3 games on Sunday. Coaches Stephen Shaughnessy, Steffen Tieme, and Greg Lope took turns reviewing our students’ games in the team room. Here’s a picture of Coach Greg and Coach Steffen playing speed chess against each other… 

We are so proud of our players. All tried their best and learned a great deal. Competing in the State Championship can be intimidating, but our players were up to the challenge and eager for next year! Here’s a great game played by Ryan Bi