Month: April 2022

Results of the TCA Spring Open 2022

Another Successful TCA Spring Open 2022!!

With more than 60+ players, ActiveKids hosted the TCA Spring Open 2022.  The tournament was divided into four sections: U-8, U-12, U-16 and Open categories. Here is a summary of the podiums of each of the sections from last Saturday, April 16, 2022.

U-8:
Patrick Wong was the champion in the U-8 category, with three wins and two draws, for fourth points out of a possible 5. Patrick kept an active king pawn game with white pieces and seeking the initiative even with black, using the Sicilian Defence. Jacob Chan finished in second place, recovering from a first round loss to Zachary Tong and winning the remaining fourth games. Third place was Lincoln Or, with 3.5 points.

Champion: Patrick Wong- 4.
2nd: Jacob Chan- 4.
3rd: Lincoln Or- 3.5.

Patrick Wong (U-8), winning on time in the last game despite making a mistake in the endgame.

U-12:
In the U-12 category, the winner was Advay Hari, with a perfect score: five wins in the same number of games. Advay took advantage of the mistakes of his rivals at crucial moments of the games, after proposing a Sicilian Defense with the black pieces and a king pawn with the white ones, in an almost permanent attack arrangement. Aaden Wong, second in this section, only lost to the champion, showing active play in the other games with a predilection for the Italian Opening (with white pieces) and the Sicilian Defense (with black). George Davies, for his part, won all his games except the duel against Aden Wong, in a Giuoco Piano that led to an ending that he could have won, but in which his rival was more precise.

Champion: Advay Hari- 5 points.
2nd: Aaden Wong- 4.
3rd: George Davies- 3.5.

Aaden Wong resigns before the inevitable coronation of Advay Hari (U-12), in the game between the two best in the category.

U-16:
In the U-16 section, the first classified was Leonie Ah Chong, with five wins in her five games and with a high technical level most of the time, leaving Theodore Lam second and Cheng Tsz in third. In the first round, there was a confrontation between those who would occupy the first two places in the table, with a victory for Leonie after a Pirc Defense of Theodore that was broken with an avalanche of white pawns that avoided the balance.

Champion: Leonie Ah Chong – 5 points.
2nd: Theodore Lam- 4.
3rd: Cheng Tsz In – 3.5.

Leonie (U-16), with white pieces, finishing with a combination and checkmating Theodore Lam in the decisive game between the two best in the category, which took place in round 1.

Open:
Edgardo Borigas was the king in the absolute section, winning all his games and exhibiting a refined technical handling of positions with relative equality. Borigas defeated his rivals by alternating the French Defense and schemes related to the London System to maneuver in the Middle Game and take advantages that led him to overall victory. Pracheesh Mishra placed second and Julian Wang third in this section.

Champion: Edgardo Borigas- 5 points.
2nd: Pracheesh Mishra- 3.5.
3rd: Julian Wang- 3.

Pracheesh Mishra resigns with for the decisive advantage of Borigas in the endgame of pawns, in the game that faced the two best of the Open.

Stay tuned for the upcoming TCA events!

Exciting News from The Chess Academy (TCA)!!

In our constant effort to bring the best programs to our students and especially in these difficult pandemic times, we are extremely proud to have brought in TWO high-caliber Chess coaches from Colombia to join our TCA Team!

With the joining of Coach Carlo and Coach Diego, we now continue to build on having the strongest team of chess coaches in Hong Kong with 2 Grand Masters leading the team.

Please find some information about our new team members below.

We are also thrilled to be offering our students a great opportunity to practice/test their chess skills at our upcoming TCA Spring Open 2022 on April 16th.

Hope to see many of our young students, as well as interested adults participating!