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On Saturday, Dec. 9, eight students from Waddell, seven students from Lylburn Downing, and three students from Rockbridge County High School participated in the 2023 Roanoke City Chess Championships.
The Waddell team finished in first place in the K-5 section. Team members included Jhossel Soriano Caceres, Franklin Palisano, Caleb Rodocker, Jhostyn Soriano Caceres, Ahmad Hasan, Harry Loughhead, Lee Crance, and Ray Maktoomi. Ray won first place overall in the individual competition, with a perfect score of four wins and no losses.
The LDMS team finished in first place in the K-8 section. Team members included Alex Eastwood, Ben Phillips, Gibson Fox, Graham Shester, Rossel Soriano Caceres, and Tim Simon. The LDMS team dominated the competition, winning individual trophies for first, second, third, fourth, and fifth place. Graham won first place overall in the individual competition, with three wins and one draw - the draw being against one of his own teammates.
One LDMS player, Elliott Allen, opted to play in the very challenging Open section of the tournament. He finished in second place with a score of 3.5 points - he won his first three games; his last game, against a very highly rated player, ended in a draw.
The RCHS team finished in second place in the Open section of the tournament. (Anyone can play in the Open section, but it mainly includes high school students, college students, and adults.) Team members included Sammy Eastwood, Liam Courtney Collins and Jonathan Soriano Caceres.
