Ratings at end of Feb

Jr. High Championships March 9 - Metcalf Jr High

See my last post for predictions - I think we can win something. Last year we did and I think we're a log better this year! Can we finish in the top 3? You saw what the Gophers did to Indiana! Can we do it, too?


Let me know if you plan on coming so I can register you!
So far the following People are coming:
Ben Wirrer

For the Real Chess Enthusiast!
Don't forget the March 4 deadline if you want to try the MSCA tournament (7th and 8th grade only) at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront in St. Paul. Sat. from 8:30 am to last round starting at 6:00 pm ends as late as 9:00 pm. 3 hour games, so slow down consider all moves carefully. Let me know if you sign up for this one and I'll send a memo to the MSCA president telling him who's on our team.
If you miss the deadline you can still sign up but it will cost $10 more at the door.

FHMS ByRating

Last Name	First Name	Rating
Miranda	Thomas	1169
Keis	Dan	950
Henry	Mace	850
Sullivan	Frank	792
Keis	Andrew	722
Pressman	Alex	679
Priborkin	Anton	621
Wirrer	Ben	613
Ellison	Ben	565
Essen	Sam	504
Phillips	Josh	436
McDermott	Thomas	397
Varnado	Phillip	383
Smith	Lendale	374
Hahnfeldt	Carter	290
Nordby	Magnus	290
Barnard	Joe	263
Rutman	Charlie	210
Lee	Keighvin	178
LaCroix	Mitch	174
Noggle	Ashley	152
Kainz	Andres	152
Spande	Naomi	141
Johnson	Evan	139
Blott	Elizabeth	136
Macal	Ethan	130
Clark	Jason	123
Nordby	Celia	109
Kasella	Andrew	100
Anil John	Joel	100

March 9 prognostications

Here' my list of top jr high/middle school teams
#1 Metcalf - perennial favorites, finished 1st or 2nd in every grade they had a team
#2 Chippewa - very strong the last couple of years
#3 Southview - strong team has done well when they show
#4 Capitol Hill - dark horse they've got 3 excellent players, if they all show they could win it
#5 Friendly Hills - done fairly well in several tournaments, have depth but not too strong
#6 Seward - several good players, but will they show in numbers?
#7 Oakview - perennially good, 8th grade team has lost only to metcalf and chippewa
#8 Harriet Bishop - pretty good 6th graders, but do they have enough
#9 Farnsworth - some good players, they will have numbers, so their top 4 could score well
#10 Turtle Lake - only thru 6th, but has some pretty good players, they will have numbers
#11 Highlands - Darkhorse elementary team, they'e won before
#12 Beacon - some good 6th graders, but not enough
#13 Nellie Stone - Not a real threat for the top spots, but could factor in

7th & 8th graders take note!

The tournament at the Riverfront Crowne Plaza in St. Paul on March 23-24 is the official state championship for Middle School / Jr. High.

To make things simple, since I can't be there, the school is not going to be involved in payment.
Discuss with your parents if you can get the money (about $55) for the two-day event, and arrange a ride.

I'm not sure the exact time yet, but I imagine 8:00 to-5:00-ish. For more details see
www.minnesotachess.org and click on the scholastics tab.

This is REAL chess. You must notate every game. Clocks will be used for all games - I have three clocks I could loan out. Your opponent will probably have a clock or you can get one from the tournament directors I think. You will get an official USCF rating from this tournament.

I'll check on the details when I have a chance.

Registration forms can be printed from the above web site or you can pick one up from me at chess club. They must be postmarked by MARCH 4.

Ratings after Feb 20

Next tournament is SAT. MARCH 9 at Metcalf Jr. High Championships
Then again on March 23-24 Sat-Sun.

These ratings do not include today's funsheet. We'll grade them in class next week.

FHMS ByRating

Last Name	First Name	Rating
Miranda	Thomas	1163
Keis	Dan	939
Henry	Mace	850
Sullivan	Frank	776
Keis	Andrew	722
Pressman	Alex	680
Wirrer	Ben	630
Priborkin	Anton	627
Ellison	Ben	565
Essen	Sam	477
Phillips	Josh	416
McDermott	Thomas	415
Smith	Lendale	384
Varnado	Phillip	383
Nordby	Magnus	286
Hahnfeldt	Carter	274
Barnard	Joe	235
Rutman	Charlie	210
Lee	Keighvin	178
LaCroix	Mitch	174
Kainz	Andres	152
Noggle	Ashley	152
Spande	Naomi	141
Johnson	Evan	139
Macal	Ethan	136
Blott	Elizabeth	136
Clark	Jason	123
Nordby	Celia	109
Anil John	Joel	100

Ratings after Tournament

Sorry Thomas, your Rating plummeted. That's what happens when you lose to an 865.
Its a harsh world up there.

FHMS ByRating

Last Name	First Name	Rating
Miranda	Thomas	1163
Keis	Dan	926
Henry	Mace	865
Sullivan	Frank	776
Keis	Andrew	722
Pressman	Alex	674
Wirrer	Ben	620
Priborkin	Anton	606
Ellison	Ben	565
Essen	Sam	477
McDermott	Thomas	417
Phillips	Josh	416
Smith	Lendale	384
Varnado	Phillip	383
Nordby	Magnus	282
Hahnfeldt	Carter	277
Barnard	Joe	224
Rutman	Charlie	210
Lee	Keighvin	178
LaCroix	Mitch	174
Kainz	Andres	152
Noggle	Ashley	152
Spande	Naomi	141
Johnson	Evan	139
Blott	Elizabeth	136
Macal	Ethan	131
Clark	Jason	123
Nordby	Celia	109
Anil John	Joel	100

Merit Points and MP needed for next award

Thomas Miranda 152.00 48.00

Dan Keis ...... 24.50 00.50

Mace Henry .... 45.75 04.25

Frank Sullivan. 16.50 08.50

Andrew Keis ... 14.00 11.00

Alex Pressman . 23.75 01.25

Ben Wirrer .... 16.25 08.75

Anton Priborkin. 5.00 05.00

Ben Ellison..... 4.00 06.00

Magnus Nordby... 2.50 07.50

7th graders win State Championship!!

Tom Miranda brought home the 3rd place trophy leading the 7th grade team to a state championship.
Magnus Nordby added 2 more points and Anton Priborkin (playing up one grade)  added 1 more.

The 8th grade team actually scored more points, but finished in 3rd (tied for second but lost out on tie-breaks) led by Ben Wirrer who brought home the 2nd place trophy. Dan Keis and Alex Pressman added 2 points each)

(Dan - you've got to stay for awards! They tied to give you a trophy, but you weren't there. That would have given you 5 merit points instead of 2.5, which in turn would have earned you your sliver medal! You also didn't get your good-looking face into the team picture.)

P.S. Mace Henry brought home the 2nd place trophy for 7th grade and Sam Pressman brought home the 2nd place trophy for High School.

So if the rest of you are having trouble beating Tom, Mace, Ben, Dan, etc., hang in there! These guys are getting good - rally good and the rest of the world is having trouble beating them also. 

Soak in the glory now. Not all the best competition was there. The next two tournaments get more serious!
Metcalf will show up, Chippewa was missing a good player (but so were we). Edina Southview didn't have a full team in either grade. But we definitely made a statement today. 

Set aside these dates:

March 9th is SCA's Jr. High Championships. We are capable of bringing home some hardware, but I think Metcalf and Chippewa are still favorites. We still have work to do.

March 23-24 at the Crowne Plaza is a different animal. Run by the USCF with clocks, notation, and complete silence. This brings out every serious player in Minnesota and a few beyond our borders. It will be interesting to see how we fare.

The nice thing about these next tournaments is that we can have everybody on one team. We only count the top 4 scores, so you don't have to worry about messing up. If you mess up we simply don't count your score. If you end up as one of the top 4, we count your score.

Farnsworth Ratings

Good Luck on Saturday! 
Connect with me there - I'll be easy to find since I'll be wearing my black & white checked chess shirt!

Farnsworth Upper ByRating

Last Name	First Name	Rating	Attendance	Grade
Lothrop	Elise	921	3	6
Thao	Chinu	870	12	6
Thao	Simon	785	17	6
Hoo	Kwae	743	13	8
Fraser	Bobby	685	18	5
Spainhour	Phil	678	2
Thao	Kevin	671	8	5
Cha	Christopher	650	14	5
Thao	Kang	630	17	6
Yang	Ethan	627	19	5
Thao	Jue	594	2	6
Bonner	Shyion	577	14	5
Thao	Pahlee	541	19	5
Xiong	Seth	502	14	5
Yang	Owen	480	14	5
Vang	Kevin	461	0	5
Kassaw	Niko	458	7	6
Gustafson	Chris	426	0
Vang	Donovan	425	4
Johnson	Adrian	399	24	5
Xiong	Elijah	393	1	5
Brown	Keyonta	375	1
Adedeji	Jamar	360	16
Thao	Ken	320	11	8
Schray	John	319	14	5
Thao	Jecolia	269	8	5
Vongsouthi	Phillip	254	3
Xiong	Ricky	207	9
Parkhurst	Caitlyn	197	5	5
Osman	Tariq	193	0	5
Xiong	Ki Seng	190	10	5
Xiong	Pacee	175	13
Thao	Eugene	169	7	5
Xiong	Samantha	166	9	5
Thao	Kuo	166	5
Thao	Ka Lia	155	10	5
Lee	Preston	150	8	7
Chah	Chy	142	7	5
Xiong	Sendy	142	6
Vang	Kayan	141	10	6
Vue	Vichai	139	3
Vang	Kachoua	132	6	5
Lee	Yuying	129	6
Montenegro	Itzalis	127	17	7
Yang	Jessica	126	7	6
Paw	Thana	124	5
Moua	Mai Hua	122	4
Chang	Mathew	121	12	5
Jackson	Anton	121	2
Thao	Kuoa	110	2
Lee	Fuechie	109	5	5
Williams	Mikal	107	4	7
Thao	Santianna	105	1	5
Lee	Vennice	102	1
Unknown	DeShawn	102	2
Rollins	Lakaiyha	100	15	5
Vang	Tou Hlau	100	0	7
Mobley	Zarea	100	4
Moua	Mong	100	0
Vang	Lue	100	0
Xiong	Alex	100	0

Farnsworth Lower ByRating

Last Name	First Name	Rating	Attendance	Grade
Lee	Clark	618	17	4
Rojas	Mark Anthony	615	16	4
Cheng	Billy	609	18	4
Estrada	Steven	571	18	4
Vang	Victoria	473	17	4
Oatis	Ahmad	457	16	4
Gamez	Caleb	451	14	4
Nicks	Chase	412	10	4
Tchaa	Diana	408	16	4
Yang	Annabel	390	17	3
F-Renville	Luis	384	15	3
Arrigoni	Bailey	353	17	3
Eastep	Jorgen	353	16	4
Lamb	Christopher	318	15	3
Xiong	Pengxu	318	18	4
Wonders	Chris	278	6	3
Gordon-Flores	Armando	266	15	3
Yang	Haiszhong	266	15	4
Soler	Harley	262	17	3
Yang	Priya	256	17	4
Vang	Alexander	238	6	3
Weldon	Dylan	235	16	3
Rambo	Jenny	223	18	4
Albrecht	Eric	210	14	3
Davis	Ronan	200	11	2
Mwendwa	Jazzmine	183	16	4
Balasis	Dimitrios	182	15	3
Lee	Daniel	178	12	3
Thao	Haely	177	7	3
Xiong	Wil	175	15	3
Xiong	Agur	168	16	3
Vang	Lovena	167	10	3
Chaves	Grace	165	14	3
Ross	Markell	158	13	4
Rojas	Victor	150	10	3
Watson	Lyric	142	11	4
Vang	Daisy	136	11	3
Worley	Vernon	133	6	3
Yang	Pana	128	12	4
Alvarado	Jesse	127	8	3
Vang	Aailiyah	121	15	3
Her	Thao	115	4	3
Lee	Mai Chang	112	10	3
Geta	Hasaet	112	5	4
Zepeda	Jeremy	112	11	3
Shapiro	Sebastian	112	12	3
Traxler	Keyon	107	15	4
Rivera	Miguel	105	1	3
Kindell	Mikyla	100	4	4
Miller	Martha	100	11	3