Submitted by Brett Thackeray on 10/17/2015
On Saturday the 17th of October, 22 students from Browning, Billings and Lewistown met in the Lewistown Junior High School Auditorium for the First Annual Lewistown Scholastic Chess Tournament. Mark Poore (15) of Billings took First Place but it was close: not two, or three, or even four players tied for first….FIVE players tied for First Place! After the normal tie breaker was calculated (the cumulative scores of the players’ opponents were added to determine the tie breaker) it was found that Mark Poore was in the lead followed by a tie between Daniel Thackeray (12) of Lewistown and Christian Fink (12) of Billings. In fourth was Hunter Laird (13) of Billings, and fifth place belonged to Elias Morris (11) of Lewistown. Daniel and Christian squared off for a speed match with only 5 minutes allowed for each player. Christian prevailed to take the second place honors. Trophies were awarded based on predetermined age groups: the Under 7 age group had no participants, while Gunnar Thomas (10) of Lewistown was the Champion of the 7 to 10 age division. In the largest age division, 11 to 14 year olds, Christian Fink was Champion followed by Daniel Thackeray and Hunter Laird. The 15 to 18 year olds consisted of Mark Poore in first and Nick Sweeney (17) of Lewistown in second.
Maddie Fink (14) of Billings was the high scoring girl and won an award for her efforts. All the participants took home mementos and door prizes. Pizza was shared by most during the lunch break.
“I was extremely pleased with the turnout and the sportsmanship demonstrated by all the players.” said tournament director Brett Thackeray. “I hope that next year we can grow the event to double what we had this year.” “In addition, Thackeray said the event would not have been so successful without the support of all the parents and coaches that contributed their time and money to make it happen.
The Second Annual Lewistown Scholastic Chess Tournament is slated for October 15th, 2016. Mark your calendar and sharpen your skills on the game board! Good luck to all, and play well!!