Upper St. Clair Team Wins Chess Challenge Championship

UPPER ST. CLAIR, PA - A four-member team of Upper St. Clair High School students recently won first place in the 2019 Future Champions Chess Challenge, held at Winchester Thurston School. Team members include three tenth graders - Lavina Sripathy, Logan Todd and Trinity Murphy - and ninth-grader Alex Todd.

In individual competition, Trinity placed third in the Championship section and Alex finished fourth in the Intermediate section. Logan and Lavina finished fourth and fifth respectively in the Beginner section.

Enes Kubilay, a sixth grader from Boyce Middle School, placed third in the Advanced Beginner section. Enoch Katru, a Baker Elementary third grader, and Benjamin Todd, a Boyce Middle School sixth grader, tied for sixth place in the Beginner section.

Seventy-eight students representing 52 schools from throughout the region competed in the day-long competition. The tournament, open to all students in kindergarten through grade 12, is comprised of four sections:

• Beginner: Open to kids rated under 400 and unrated players in kindergarten to grade 5
• Advanced Beginner: Open to kids rated 400 to 649 and unrated players in grades 6 to 12
• Intermediate: Open to kids who are rated 650 to 899
• Championship: Open to kids who are rated 900 and over