St Stanislaus emerge champions at scholastic chess competition

Known in the world of local chess for creating platforms on which young players can display and improve their skills, Marian Academy has once again hosted a chess competition. This time around, the scholastic competition was open to outside schools, adding a little flavour to the competitiveness.
The event saw participation from schools such as Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School, Saint Stanislaus College, Mae’s Under 12, Tuschen Deaf Academy, School of Nations, Al Ghazali Islamic Academy and, of course, a home team from Marian Academy in both primary and secondary categories.
In the team version of the secondary competition, St Stanislaus College’s A team comprising young champions such as Jaden Taylor, Ghansham Allijohn, Jarrell Troyer and Chelsea Juma took top honours. Juma, who played unbeaten, fuelled her experienced team to a 5.5 point win, a half point ahead of their next opponent.
Surprisingly, the second position was taken by the Queen’s College A team. Upcoming sensation Rajiv Lee could be thanked for that, after leading his team to five points. Being new to the scene, Queen’s College showed grit and determination as they were the only team to draw with Saints 2-2, out of four matches.
They were followed closely by tournament favourites Marian Academy. With Ethan Lee leading the charge for the home team, they garnered 4.5 points for their third place. Also shining on the Marian team was Odit Rodrigues, who played magnificently for his wins in the first, second and third rounds.
Also fairly new to the competitive chess world were School of the Nations, who played valiantly. Shabaka Martin and Joshua Khan were notable mentions for the team.
It was difficult to adjudge an individual top runner amongst the players as Ethan Lee, Jaden Taylor, Odit Rodrigues, and Jorrell Troyer all recorded 5.5 points, four wins, no losses and one draw. While Rajiv Lee suffered one loss out of his six games with five wins for his five points.
On the other hand, Marian Academy got their taste of victory in the primary team category. However, the most outstanding performance in the category came from Tuschen Deaf Academy, whose players Aleem Basser and Anaya Lall made sure their teams were in the limelight with some fighting victories over much higher rated players. While Marian Academy’s B team took the third prize, fourth were copped by Mae’s Under 12 School. Arysh Raghunauth and the Alli brothers – Jibril and Kaiden – recorded some much-needed wins for their team.
Marian Academy, however, made their mark in the individual categories, winning both primary and secondary divisions. Ronan Lee, Gareth Da Silva and Dwayne Bess all from Marian Academy took top honours in the secondary division. The host school dominated once again in the primary division as Neal Rodrigues, Kyle Couchman and Italy Ton-Chung ended in the top three positions. However, notable games from Jacob Mc Donald of School of the Nations and Omar Shariff of Mae’s School were highlights of the event.
The event was hosted by Marian Academy with full support from the Wendell Meusa Chess Foundation. The hosts wished to extend special thanks to the Head Teachers of Mae’s School, School of Nations, Al Ghazali Islamic Academy, Tuschen Deaf Academy, Queen’s College, St Stanislaus College and the Bishops’ High School, as well as the Lees, Frasers and all parents who were supportive throughout the event.