The TCA 14th ISF Academy Chess Open took place on Sunday March 3rd in the spectacular facilities. A record attendance of 318 enthusiastic participants from 74 schools played across 4 divisions for team competition honors as well as individual. The day also marked our 20th Anniversary of ActiveKids, and what better way than to celebrate with one of the Biggest Interschool tournaments held in Hong Kong. ISF’s Assistant Director of Athletics Mr. Zach Rice along with ActiveKids Grace So got the tournament underway with a brief introduction.
U6 Section
In the smallest section, for age and number of players, Meng Shayne of Discovery College came on top with 6 pts over tie-breaks with Haylen Law of HK Soka Kindergarten. This section is always exciting to watch as most times is their first in-person tournament and also for parents to see their children compete, nerves come into play! Moving several pieces, using both hands, illegal moves, you will see it all in this section. More importantly of course is the experience and learning opportunity gained
Individual Results
1st Place Individual – Meng, Shayne (Discovery College)
2nd Place Individual – Law, Haylen (Hong Kong Soka Kindergarten)
3rd Place Individual – Ellison, Steve (Caritas Kindergarten)
4th Place Individual – Mak, Mateo (RCHK)*
5th Place Individual – Ghitis, Enzo (CIS)*
6th Place Individual – Lam, Chi Hong Forest (CWB Victoria Kindergarten)
1st Place Female – Lau, Sze Ching (St. Catherine’s International Kindergarten)*
2nd Place Female – Lau, Charisse (St. Paul Day Nursery)
3rd Place Female – Gao, Georgie (ISF)*
Age 5 winner – Li, Hei Ming Carl (Sheng Kung Hui Kindergarten)
Age 6 winner – Jin, George (ISF)*
Team Results
1st Place Team – ISF Academy*
2nd Place Team – Discovery College
3rd Place Team – Hong Kong Soka Kindergarten
4th Place Team – Caritas Kindergarten
5th Place Team – RCHK*
6th Place Team – CIS*
Lower Primary
Lower Primary had a great turn-out of 100 participants, including some of the top lower primary players in Hong Kong. TCA’s very own and U7 Junior Champion Clayton Lau came on top with a perfect score. Closely behind was a five-way tie, including defending champion Jonathan Lundberg. It is an incredible achievement of concentration and endurance!
Individual Results
1st Place Individual – Lau, Clayton (Bradbury School)*
2nd Place Individual – Or, Lincoln (St. Stephen’s College Preparatory School)
3rd Place Individual – Lundberg, Jonathan (ICHK)*
4th Place Individual – Wong, Hoi Cheung (HHCKLA Buddhist Wisdom Primary School)
5th Place Individual – Liu Andrew (Singapore Int’l School)
6th Place Individual – Cheung Julien (SJS)
1st Place Female – Peng Lixiao Sonia (Clearwater Bay School)
2nd Place Female – Pearce Marissa (HKIS)*
3rd Place Female – Jain, Lakshika (Kellett)*
Age 7 winner – Chong, Jake (KCIS)
Age 8 winner – Wang, Chun Kit Daniel (YCIS)
Age 9 winner – Li, Aaron (ISF)*
Team Results
1st Place Team – St. Stephen’s College Preparatory School
2nd Place Team – The ISF Academy*
3rd Place Team – CIS*
4th Place Team – Kennedy School
5th Place Team – Yew Chung International School
6th Place Team – Harrow International School
Upper Primary
The Upper Primary section was the largest of the tournament with an outstanding showing of 131 players fighting for top honors. Always, one of the hottest contested sections in scholastic chess, it was top junior Brandon Fang from the host school ISF Academy who improved from his 3rd place finish last year to finish on top with a perfect score of 7/7pts. Top 3 spots were taken by Brayden Tsui and Aidan Yeo.
Individual Results
1st Place Individual – Fang, Brandon Jun Qiao (ISF)*
2nd Place Individual – Tsui, Long Hei Brayden (DBSPD)*
3rd Place Individual – Yeo, Aiden Ren Jie (Singapore international School)
4th Place Individual – Chiu, Silas Nathaniel (CIS)*
5th Place Individual – Chu, Chun Yat Jervis (DBSPD)*
6th Place Individual – Liu, Zachary (Singapore International School)
1st Place Female – Chang, Annabel (ISF)*
2nd Place Female – Kelly, Elise Lilian (Marymount Primary School)*
3rd Place Female – Xing, Shiyu Annie (HKIS)
Age 10 winner – Luk, Marcus Jasper (Singapore Int’l School)
Age 11 winner – Zhan, Sam Yeuk San (SJS)
Age 12 winner – Tang Long Yin (PLK Camoes Tan Siu Lin Primary School)
Team Results
1st Place Team – ISF Academy*
2nd Place Team – Singapore international school
3rd Place Team – DBSPD*
4th Place Team – CIS*
5th Place Team – HKIS
6th Place Team – SJS
Secondary
For the strongest section of the day, it has come to our attention that the secondary section has been growing steadily, and that simply means our younger players are growing up and continuing to play chess! This is of course very rewarding to see. This is one of the toughest sections – it now includes players who have represented Hong Kong at the international level. In a repeat from last year Justin Cheng from ISF Academy was upsetted in the last round by Thanneermalai Kannappan and had to settle for second place. A third of the field is now FIDE rated, demonstrating the strength of youth chess.
Individual Results
1st Place Individual – Kannappan, Thanneermalai (West Island School)*
2nd Place Individual – Cheng, Hong-Chen Justin (ISF)*
3rd Place Individual – Chan, Mikail Nur Azmir (St. Margaret’s Co-educational English Secondary and Primary School)*
4th Place Individual – Cheng, Tsz In Aiden (Wah Yan College, Hong Kong)
5th Place Individual – Chiu, David Zion (CIS)
6th Place Individual – Lee Man Sau (Raimondi College)
1st Place Female – Lau, Hailey Chloe (South Island School)*
2nd Place Female – Ah Chong, Leonie Ye (St. Paul’s Co-educational College)
3rd Place Female – Chen, Renee (CDNIS)*
Age 13 winner – Zhang, Marvin (Singapore Int’l School)
Age 14 winner – Shah, Krishiv (GSIS)*
Age 15 winner – Lo, Jason Jun-San (La Salle College)
Age 16 winner – Ip, Hugo (ISF)*
Age 17 winner – Cheung, Shiu Ming (YHKCC)
Age 18 winner – Shing Wai Chuen (Shun Lee Catholic Secondary School)
Team Results
1st Place Team – ISF Academy*
2nd Place Team – CIS*
3rd Place Team – CDNIS*
4th Place Team – Shun Lee Catholic Secondary School
5th Place Team – RCHK*
6th Place Team – St. Margaret’s Co-educational English Secondary and Primary School
* Players / Schools under TCA Coaching
Next on our chess calendar is:
TCA Road-to-Masters Spring Blitz Tournament 2024 on Mar 23!
TCA Road-to-Masters Spring Rapid Tournament 2024 on Mar 24!
TCA Beginners Tournament 2024 on April 14 & 21!
Click here for more details!