Angela Olivera, Journalist
20 February, 2024
On January 30, 2024, the Port Chester High School’s chess club held its second annual chess tournament in the library. In this, students compete against one another in a single elimination style format. The tournament’s first round began as students competed against randomly assigned opponents. The winners would compete against other victors until a final champion was crowned. The semi finals (match before the finals) saw Benjamin Bornander play Alexander Langenbach and Juan Mejia face off against Okechukwu Osita in speed chess. As the name suggests, speed chess is a faster pace version of the game which leaves players with less time to think about their next move. Juan Mejia and Alexander Langenbach won, moving on to the Championship game.
Both Mejia and Langenbach beat all competitors they faced to reach the championship.. In order to crown a final champion, they competed against each other in another intense game of speed chess. Mejia played black while Langenbach played white. Langenbach started the match by moving his small pawn piece forward a square. The match started off calmly and slowly. However, as the game went on, the intensity began to ramp up. Both The game began to speed up and the crowd of onlookers leaned in. The hard fought match ended with Mejia being crowned the winner. Mr. Raskin presented him with a trophy which was followed by a round of applause from every student there.
Image Credit: Mr. Raskin