On April 6th, we proudly inaugurated the ActiveKids new learning center with the 15th Beginners Tournament, welcoming nearly 70 participants – almost doubling our attendance from last year.
This tournament serves as a crucial entry point for many young chess players, proving them with a competitive yet fun environment to showcase their skills and learn from their experience. The event featured 7 rounds of 10 minutes plus a 5-second increment, divided into four age sections.
U7 Section
There was a tie for first place in the U7 section, but by better tie-breaks Balthazar Chow triumphed over Ethan Tu from ISF. Just a point behind was Nick Ellison, with Sirui Yang taking the Best Female Award.
First Place – Chow, Balthazar Sarek 6/7pts
Second Place – Tu, Ethan 6/7pts
Third Place – Ellison, Nick 5/7pts
Best Female – Yang, Sirui 3/7pts
Results – https://chess-results.com/tnr1150233.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7&turdet=YES
U9 Section
In the largest section of the day with 26 participants, it was Boris Tang who managed to achieve a perfect score. Close behind was TCA’s student Austin So with 6 points, and then a massive 5 way tie for third place. At the end, it was Charlie Liu that locked in 3rd place with better tie-breaks, and Elizabeth Tegarden taking Best Female for the tough section.
First Place – Tang, Hong Chit 7/7pts
Second Place – So, Ngo Yin Austin 6/7pts
Third Place – Liu, Charlie 4.5/7pts
Best Female – Tegarden, Elizabeth 3/7pts
Results – https://chess-results.com/tnr1150234.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7&turdet=YES
U11 Section
The U11 section saw an unprecedented result in Josephine Chan, winning the entire section and best female outright. While this might be surprising, chess has yet to reach the female attention, but every year we see more participation and excellent results such as Josephine! Rounding up the top 3 were, Thaddeus Chan and Kaden Chui.
First Place – Chan, Josephine Hei Yin 6/7pts
Second Place – Chan, Thaddeus Lang Tian 5/7pts
Third Place – Chui, Kaden 5/7pts
Best Female – Leung, Laura 4/7pts*
Results – https://chess-results.com/tnr1150237.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7&turdet=YES
U18 Section
The section that continues to grow in every tournament, it was Micah Leung with a strong performance and perfect score that claimed top honours. Tied for second and third place were Cedric Wong and Tato Lai with 5 out of 7 points.
First Place – Leung, Ngai Chie Micah 7/7pts
Second Place – Wong, Wai Kiu Cedric 5/7pts
Third Place – Lai, Pak Sum Tato 5/7pts
Results – https://chess-results.com/tnr1150242.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7&turdet=YES
We are excited to see so many newcomers eager to engage with chess!
Our next major interschool tournament is the 15th Annual TCA Scholastic Championship on Jun 8. Hope all the chess enthusiasts can join.
Also, we at TCA have put together many exciting and substantive programs for our students this summer. Come check out our quality Summer Camps (in both out HK and Kowloon venues), as well as Travel Programs to ZhuHai and Barcelona.
For any enquiries, please click on the QR code or contact us anytime.
Enjoy the photos and have a great Summer!
