What a great summer!! We had record attendance, extremely competitive tournaments, and loads of fun out doors where our campers showed off their sports skills and the ability to work as a team. The weather was great, with only a few really hot days and only one or two rain days. The games of our returning campers have shown great improvement, and we had the pleasure of welcoming many new first time players into the ranks of chess. What more could anyone ask for?
Robert Elliotand Gillad Drillichtied for the 1st place, so to make it more interesting Sergey decided to have them (entire section) play simul against coaches.On the first day Hana was able to defeat all of the players (even though Michael Rozenvasser was very close in pulling the draw!), while on the second day Robert drew Solomon and grab the 1st place.
In a very tight race, Christopher Kimemerged as the winner over Anthony Xu, scoring 7.5 out of 10. Christopher was down by ½ a point going into the final round. He managed to score two wins in the last round, while his brother Mathew Kim drew his match with Anthony 1:1. Will Christopher share his 1st place trophy with Matthew?
Another togh competition. With a little help from Philip Lee who got sick and dropped out of the tournament Benjamin Mankowitzscored 8 points out of 10 (including two extra points from Philip) and won the 1st place two points ahead of Zachary Lyandres (who played all his games!). The competition could have been more interesting if Philip was able to stay in the tournament!
Section 4Results In another highly competitive and close race, David Fefer emerged as the victory by ½ point over Christian Lee and Dylan Fearon who shared the 2nd place.
In a fierce and tense last round struggle, Jeffrey Xuemerged as the victor over second place Michael Sun-Huangby ½ point The top four finishers were separated by only ½ point! Talk about close…. wow!
Zachary Mankowitz and Gabriella Clementedrew the last roundin what had to be the longest game of the summer. They finished during the awards ceremony!! Now that’s concentration!
Each coach chooses the best student in their class for this honor. The criteria include problem-solving ability, improvement, behavior, and general participation and attitude during the week.
With a perfect attendance record of 9 weeks, we are proud to name Sasha Modlin and Gilad Drillich as “our heroes” of the summer. Now that’s commitment!!! We even forgive Sasha for peeling all the paint off the tables………I know that Solomon will miss his after school games with Gilad, who is shaping up to be a very formidable blitz chess player!
Anthony Xu proved to be as adept with the ball as he is with the pen, and dodged and weaved his way to become the dodge ball champion for the final week, and will hold the “crown” until next summer, in this, our most popular sports competition.
Haik Der Manueliandashed up and down the field this week, displaying impressive skills. And they say that chess players are geeks…..shows you what they know!
Jessica Miaowas our ace “spiker” this week, and her arsenal of weapons also contains a formidable serve. Look out…….!
As we complete our final week of summer camp, the ICA staff would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our campers and their parents for their wonderful support and enthusiastic participation this summer. Our numbers were well above last year’s, and we hope to beat them next year. We would like to urge all of our parents and campers to consider enrolling in our classes this fall in order to continue to build upon the fantastic progress that we have seen this summer. Many parents use summer camps in general as “baby sitters”, and other than the fun that campers have, they really have nothing to show for their time, effort and money. With chess camps, children have the enjoyment of making new friends, participate in exciting competitions, and gain a tangible “asset” that will serve them the rest of their lives. We always see a significant difference in the intelligence and mental abilities of scholastic chess players as opposed to children who don’t play. We also saw many children this summer who at first had a great deal of difficulty sitting still and concentrating learn to do just that.
We are now accepting registration for the fall semester in Teaneck (Monday, Wednesday & Sunday) and Fair Lawn (Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday). Our prices are very reasonable, and we have some of the best teachers in the state who are dedicated professionals that care deeply for their students. Please consider joining the ICA family this fall and give us a call at 201-833-1741. You can also find the fall schedules for both locations and a registration form under the “Schedule” tab on the website. We hope to see you there!!
