by Ed Addis
The final round of the Portland Area League’s 6-Round Swiss System tournament came to a conclusion on Wednesday December 14th. Top seeded Clackamas High School was pitted against the young upstarts from Sylvan Middle School. The match started promptly at 4 PM and from the start it appear that the upper-classmen of Clackamas were going to have a very good night. Winning first on board 4, then on board 5, and then on board 3. The top 2 boards looked fairly even for most of the night, but then both of the Deng brothers (Clemen on board 1, and Leo on board 2) made great use of their remaining Knights to win both games. Westview and Wilson High Schools were both hoping that Sylvan could upset Clackamas and that one of them would get to claim a share of first place. Both teams fought hard to win the match. Eddie Wang of Westview and Dillon Murray faced off on board 1, but since neither could find a win the game ended in a draw. Wilson’s Nathan Jewell won on Board 2, but Westivew’s Jimmy Nguyen evened it up on board 5. Westview took the lead with Lamson Vu’s victory on board 3. Unfortunately Wilson’s board 4 was a no show – time forfeit giving Westview a 3 1/2 to 1 1/2 match win.
With over 20 teams in the League the coaches knew we did not have time to play a Round Robin Tournament where everyone meets everyone. Additionally, since many of the schools had multiple teams it really did not make sense for a school’s number one team (consisting of the top 5 players) to face their second team (consisting of players number 6 to 10) or even less to have them face their third team (consisting of players number 11 to 15). The coaches decided prior to the start of the season to utilize the Swiss System for the first half of the season. The Swiss System is great for its ability within a relatively small number of rounds to end up with only one prefect score. True to its reputation there was only one prefect score after 5 rounds, and after 6 rounds we had a clear first and second place. However no real clear third place with 6 teams with 4 wins. The coaches also decided that the order of the teams finish would help to determine placement in the second half Round Robin sections. So in 2012 the League will be split into three different 8-Team sections and will play only 7 rounds ending just prior to the Oregon High School Chess Team Championship.
First Half Final Team Standings
| Team | Match Points | Board points |
|---|---|---|
| Clackamas | 6 | 23 |
| Westview | 5 | 21.5 |
| LaSalle College Prep | 4 | 22 |
| Wilson | 4 | 19.5 |
| Sylvan | 4 | 19.5 |
| Jesuit | 4 | 18.5 |
| Lake Oswego | 4 | 18 |
| LaSalle #2 | 4 | 16.5 |
| Sherwood #2 | 3.5 | 16.5 |
| Cleveland | 3 | 17.5 |
| Access Academy | 3 | 16.5 |
| Lincoln | 3 | 16.5 |
| Wilsonville | 3 | 14 |
| Lake Oswego #2 | 3 | 14 |
| Clackamas #2 | 3 | 11.5 |
| Cleveland #2 | 3 | 11 |
| Sherwood | 2.5 | 14 |
| Sylvan #2 | 2 | 12 |
| Access Academy #2 | 2 | 12 |
| Access Academy #3 | 2 | 11.5 |
| Jesuit #2 | 2 | 11.5 |
| Scio | 1.5 | 10.5 |
| Wilson #2 | 1.5 | 4.5 |
| LaSalle #3 | 1 | 10 |
Top Individual Performances
1st Board
| Name | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Clemen Deng | Sylvan | 6 |
| Dillon Murray | Wilson | 5.5 |
| Bryce Eng | Jesuit | 5 |
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2nd Board
| Name | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Nathan Jewell | Wilson | 6 |
| Leo Deng | Sylvan | 5 |
| Charlie Summers | La Salle | 5 |
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3rd Board
| Name | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Varun Sah | Jesuit | 6 |
| Cameron Fish | Cleveland | 5 |
| Hai Dao | Clackamas | 4 |
| Peter Kleier | Cleveland | 4 |
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4th Board
| Name | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Lamson Vu | Westview | 6 |
| Kian Patel | Access Academy | 6 |
| Luke Meyer | Lincoln | 4.5 |
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5th Board
| Name | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cheng Chen | Westview | 5 |
| Curtis Bush | Sherwood | 4.5 |
| Will Holleran | LaSalle | 4 |
| Bryan Lucero | Clackamas | 4 |
Chess players in grades 6 to 12 to join are welcomed to come to Lincoln HS (when Portland Public Schools are in session) at 4 PM to join the fun. Every week we have an “Extra Game” section with registration closing just after 4 PM (the start of League Plays) and your welcome to play in that section without restriction.
Additionally some of the teams would welcome additional players (our rules allow each school to have up to two — players that are not their students). What does this mean — Well for example if you go to David Douglas High School (a school not in the League) you could still be placed on an existing team.