On January 24^th 2009, three Overlake middle school students participated in the Chess Mates Winterfest tournament that was held at the Broadview-Thomson School in Seattle.  The Overlake team ended up taking top honors in the 5-8^th section, earning the 1^st place team trophy.   This is the second time in as many months that Overlake has received the 1^st place team award.  When we can field enough players, our team is always competing for a podium spot.

Leading the Overlake team, 7^th grader Drew Chouinard scored 4 out of 5 wins en route to a 4^th place overall finish.  The section actually ended in 5-way tie for the top spot, and Drew’s 4^th place finish was decided on a complicated tie-break calculation.  Along the way, Drew scored two major upsets over players rated 200+ and 300+ points above him. His final round upset win came in dramatic fashion as it guaranteed the overall team trophy.   Jack Sather scored 3.5 points out of 5 and ended up with 7^th place overall finish.  Interestingly, Drew avenged Jack’s only loss with his other upset victory.  Finally, Will Spencer finished with 3 points, nearly 4, barely losing a hard fought final round game.  Will’s only losses came to players that finished in the 5-way tie for first.

Congratulations Overlake chess players!