Official Chess Summer Scholastic Showdown Tournament at Baruch Middle School MS104 – July 12, 2025

Innovative Pairing System:

– Balanced like Quads: avoid big rating gaps

– Exciting like Swiss: compete for awards

 

School is out but Chess is still IN!  – Play. Learn. Repeat. Improve Your Chess Experience.

*Maximize Ratings – Minimize Mismatches*

 

Scroll down to bottom for Advance Entries and to Register for the tournament

 

– We combine the best attributes of quads (play opponents closest to your rating) with Swiss (best system for determining tournament winners), aka the Monrad system.

– No more early-round blowouts or rating-risk matchups like sometimes happens in a traditional Swiss.

– Top players won’t be penalized with low-rated opponents just for being seeded high.

– Monrad minimizes the dreaded “huge rating risk, very little upside” situation Conversely, kids at the lower-end of the section breaks will not have to fear an “automatic first round loss”.

– Our hybrid system creates the ideal environment for both growth and rating gains – pairing players near their level for meaningful, competitive games.

– Smarter pairings. Fairer competition. Better results.

 

*No coach to review your games? We have you covered! (Register for “Entry PLUS” at checkout)*

– Upgrade your experience and learn from Grandmaster/reigning Correspondence Chess World Champion  Jon Edwards and Original Life Master/NM Eric Fleischman in between rounds (an OLM title is bestowed when a player keeps an established rating above 2200 for 300 rated games)

 

Tournament TDs: Jabari McGreen, Harold Stenzel (NY State Chess Association Hall of Fame TD)

 

Team Room Requests: Email info@officialchess.org

 

Location: Simon Baruch Middle School MS104 (330 E 21st St, Manhattan)

 

Check-In: 9:00–9:30 AM (In-person only)

 

Format: 4 Rounds | USCF Rated

 

Sections:

– Current Published Regular Rating (Supplement) used – Search for player’s rating here: https://new.uschess.org/civicrm/player-search

– Note grade restrictions

• Premier Section K-5 only (u500 – unrated welcome but must have USCF membership) – G/25 d5
• Elite Section K-5 only (u1000) – G/40 d5
• Grand Section K-12 only (u1500) – G/50 d5
• Championship Section K-12 only (u2000) – G/50 d5

 

Pairing Procedures:

– Initial pairings based on closest-rated opponent in same section, NOT traditional Swiss systems or accelerated Swiss

• By contrast, in a traditional Swiss pairing system, if there is a 100-player section, the number 1 seed (ranked by rating) will play number 51, number 2 plays number 52, etc. – This of course leads to much higher ratings gaps between players which does not benefit the higher or the lower rated player

– Subsequent pairings based on current tournament points, followed by closest rated opponent with same points

– 1 point will be awarded for every win, 0.5 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss

– Players may choose up to 2 “byes”

• Attendees will not have to play in that round but will still receive 0.5 points for pairing and tournament result purposes. Usually “byes” are taken for the first round or last round due to scheduling conflicts but it is ok to take a “bye” for any round. “Byes” must be requested at the time of registration.

– Please note that player colors will alternate between each round but in rare cases a player may be assigned the same color in consecutive rounds due to other contraints

 

Individual Awards:

– Except for the Championship Section, trophies for top 3 individual players in each section

– Those with the same final score but lower tie breaks than the 3rd place winner will NOT LEAVE EMPTY HANDED – They will also receive a “3rd Place Tie Trophy”

– Top 3 players in the Open Section will receive $250, $150, $100, respectively – Monetary awards will be split in cases of ties – e.g. If 2 players score 4.0, they will both split $400 evenly (first and second place awards), any players with 3.5 will split $100 evenly (third place award), if no 3.5 scores, then the 3.0 scores will split the third place award, etc.

 

Team Awards (Team members must be from the same school):

– Team Trophy 1 (Top Scorers from a School):

• Top 6 individual results from each school contribute to the Top Scorers Team score
• Top Scorers Team trophy given to top 3 schools
• Only the top 6 student scorers should go to stage to receive the Top Scorers Team Trophy

– Team Trophy 2 (All Players from a School):

• Every individual result from each school contribute to the Overall Team score
• Overall Team trophy given to top 3 schools
• Every student from the school should go to stage to receive the Team trophies, regardless of their individual scores

 

Tie-Break Methods for Awards (Official USCF Tournament Methods):

1) Modified Median – Total points scored by your opponents (half-points for early withdrawals), and disregards the least-significant (usually the lowest scoring) opponent.  The player with the highest total has played opponents with the best scores in the tournament‑‑ in theory, the hardest opponents.

2) Solkoff – Total points scored by your opponents (half-points for early withdrawals), including the lowest scoring opponents

3) Cumulative – Sum of your total points after each round (each rounds score is added to the previous rounds which means players who won in earlier rounds score higher than those won in later rounds)

4) Opponents Cumulative – Same as above exccept this method is based on your opponents’ score

 

Additional Info:

– Parental Supervision – Parents must stay with children at all times in between matches. No running or ball play indoors per school safety rules.

– Notation – Required for all sections except U500. Sheets and pencils provided; notation books available for purchase.

• Please note that game reviews with coaches are only possible if the child notates the moves of the games

– Equipment – Boards and pieces provided. Players must bring their own clocks (available for purchase on-site).

– Lunch – Pizza available for purchase.

–  Must have active USCF membership – If needed, renew here https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess

 

Advance Entries as of July 11:

– Flip to landscape mode to view on mobile

– Copy and paste into excel to re-sort data

	Player First Name	Player Last Name	Player USCF Regular Rating	School Name	Grade (as of Jan 2025)	Player Section Selection	USCF Membership Number
1	Megan	Paragua	2294	Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School	6th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	17106692
2	Dominic	Paragua	2110	Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School	10th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	17106686
3	Gavin	Liu	1796	HS of Telecommunication Arts and Technology	9th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	30736471
4	Oscar	Finkin	1742	PS 59 Beekman Hill International	3rd	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	30327682
5	Hillel	Doron-Repa	1729	IS 318 Brooklyn	7th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	16771628
6	Julian	Spedalieri	1696	IS 318 Brooklyn	7th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	17018111
7	Ethan	Nazimowitz	1671	Salk School of Science	6th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	17325702
8	Ayden	Spellman	1628	IS 318 Brooklyn	5th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	31086688
9	Jacob	Bleiberg	1605	Browning	2nd	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	31235579
10	Caleb	García	1586	HS of Telecommunication Arts and Technology	11th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	15594610
11	Leo	Fleischauer	1550	IS 318 Brooklyn	7th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	17321301
12	Alexander	Park	1538	TAG Young Scholars	4th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	30043533
13	Khalil	Wilson	1479	IS 318 Brooklyn	5th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	30739619
14	Aidan	Wang	1472	Greenacres Elementary School	Kindergarten	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	31644872
15	Harrison	Moscona	1437	PS 59 Beekman Hill International	2nd	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	30828002
16	Henry	Arnold	1434	Speyer Legacy School	5th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	17321097
17	Lve	Wang	1413	PS 281 The River School	4th	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	30888610
18	Brendan T.	Seto	1347	PS 281 The River School	3rd	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	30311287
19	Maximus	Phillips	1327	PS 33 Chelsea Prep	2nd	Championship Section K-12 only (Open)	31312167
20	Bulat	Aiusheev	1409	Success Academy Bensonhurst	4th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31639198
21	Liam	Feng	1409	IS 289	6th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	30658890
22	Mateo	Maurentt	1405	IS 318 Brooklyn	5th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	30208512
23	Bruce	Yaryshkin	1395	IS 318 Brooklyn	7th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	17323506
24	Maxwell	Shen	1376	Greenacres Elementary School	4th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	30044606
25	Akaash	Deshpande	1372	02M414 NYC Museum School	8th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	30941966
26	Yotam	Doron-Repa	1266	IS 318 Brooklyn	7th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	16771613
27	Alexander	Chong	1230	Nest+m	5th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	30777708
28	Alistair	Tsui	1218	Speyer Legacy School	5th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31257411
29	Athena	Tsui	1216	Speyer Legacy School	5th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31257439
30	Maxime	Tereshko Leger	1201	PS 281 The River School	3rd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31804396
31	Marcus	Shpigel	1192	PS145	2nd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	32126027
32	Marianna	Genis	1180	Speyer Legacy School	2nd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	30821868
33	Aarav	Singh	1163	Central Boulevard Elementary School, Bethpage	4th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	32371070
34	Louie	Nakamura	1143	IS 318 Brooklyn	6th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31188861
35	Tayeer	Mukhamejan	1126	PS 199	3rd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31331786
36	Raenav	Bajpai-Sharan	1098	PS 527	2nd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31089291
37	Maverick	Wang	1082	PS 281 The River School	1st	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31511936
38	Allison	Zhou	1044	Greenacres Elementary School	1st	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	32008042
39	Eric	Tseng	1035	PS 281 The River School	3rd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31028695
40	Aaron	Tossa	1031	Success Academy Midtown West	6th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31333716
41	Brian	Fu	1018	PS 276	3rd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31638313
42	Kurt	Ferber	1017	PS 281 The River School	3rd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	30310885
43	Alexandra	Abrams	1008	IS 318 Brooklyn	8th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	16903844
44	Kai	Yang	1006	Speyer Legacy School	2nd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31220547
45	Emily	Tseng	1005	PS 281 The River School	5th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31028854
46	Aurora	Yardley	981	Speyer Legacy School	3rd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	30762091
47	Christopher	Dimoh	961	IS 318 Brooklyn	7th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31775363
48	Chloe	Jin	949	Great Neck Lakeville Elementary School.	2nd	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31503925
49	Tino	Pinsker	811	Yorkville East Middle School	8th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	17155891
50	Elliot	Zemman	738	Pierrepont school. Rutherford, NJ	6th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	32242075
51	Amursan	Selvin	482	Success Academy Hudson Yards	6th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	31886410
52	Funmilayo	Adewumi	393	IS 318 Brooklyn	6th	Grand Section K-12 only (u1500)	32260293
53	Lucas	Wang	973	Greenacres Elementary School	3rd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31669404
54	Isla	Arnold	947	Q300	3rd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31347262
55	Wyatt	Yim	936	PS 199	2nd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31572537
56	Francis	Li	866	Flushing Christian School	4th	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31444210
57	James	Gordillo	779	IS 318 Brooklyn	6th	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	32195608
58	Alistair	Cheng	757	Q300	4th	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	32219733
59	Lucas	Ciraldo	745	PS 281 The River School	1st	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31754262
60	Leonardo	Ferber	732	PS 281 The River School	1st	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31478004
61	Blair	Lan	700	Anderson	2nd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31835545
62	Ismael	Chavez	689	Rosalyn Yalow Charter School	3rd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	30996417
63	Gabriel	Kleyman	687	PS 199	3rd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31078266
64	Eva Sofia	Lagares	684	Speyer Legacy School	4th	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31748487
65	Aurora	Golovicher	673	Brearley School	1st	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31902031
66	Solaris	Wang	650	PS 130M	2nd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31328880
67	Naomi	Finkin	645	PS 59 Beekman Hill International	1st	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31584502
68	Reyan	Mukherjee	636	Speyer Legacy School	2nd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31175146
69	Avi	Kashyap	606	PS 33 Chelsea Prep	4th	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	30788365
70	Hana	Yoshino	604	PS 171 Patrick Henry	1st	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31985233
71	Theodore	Holmes IV	603	PS 115 The Daniel Mucatel School	3rd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	32340263
72	Zoe	Fu	575	TAG Young Scholars	1st	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31882089
73	Jeremiah	Dimoh	522	PS 20 The Clinton Hill School	3rd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	32404248
74	Skendry	Castillo	513	University Prep Charter Middle School	8th	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31702792
75	Gabriel	Mikhailov	504	PS 199	3rd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	31566933
76	Apollo	Loh	463	Speyer Legacy School	1st	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	32093948
77	Aaron	Byhovsky	361	Success Academy	2nd	Elite Section K-5 only (u1000)	32014620
78	Sterling	Yardley	441	Speyer Legacy School	Kindergarten	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	30762115
79	Kian	Arnold	440	German School Manhattan	Kindergarten	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32200241
80	Henry	Adelman	421	Speyer Legacy School	1st	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32096391
81	Kiyaan	Krishnan	419	Greenacres Elementary School	3rd	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32148382
82	Luca	Marin	411	Succes Academy Union Square	3rd	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32147239
83	Yuv	Mukherjee	350	Speyer Legacy School	Kindergarten	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32003092
84	Cameron	Blake	301	Harlem Academy	1st	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32116755
85	Kailani	Hernandez	274	Rosalyn Yalow Charter School	2nd	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	31636198
86	Peien Shanna	Chen	207	TAG Young Scholars	4th	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32472792
87	Rio	Rodriguez Miller	157	Instituto Bilingue Victoria	2nd	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	31337070
88	Luca	Arnold	143	German School Manhattan	Kindergarten	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32200258
89	Jeremy	Hou	107	PS 281 The River School	Kindergarten	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32477411
90	Genhi	Hibma Thompson	Unrated	Speyer Legacy School	3rd	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32465891
91	Noah	Hodel	Unrated	Success Academy Union Square	2nd	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32006336
92	Zeno	Scott Ades	Unrated	The Titus School, Manhattan	Kindergarten	Premier Section K-5 only (u500/Unrated)	32500749