Sunday, January 15, 2012

MHSCL Season Summary After Three Rounds: Four Undefeated Teams With 2 Rounds Remaining

Six Mid-Hudson Scholastic Chess League matches were played January 7, 2012, at James O’Neill HS, which is located in Fort Montgomery, NY. When the dust cleared, four teams remained undefeated with two rounds remaining. Three teams (Cornwall Central High School Team 1, Kingston High School, and James O’Neill High School Team 1) were 3-0, and Middletown High School was 2-0 with a makeup match to be played.

Cornwall Central HS Team 1, the Fischer Conference’s top team and two-time defending champs, narrowly defeated Monroe-Woodbury, 5-4, before winning the next two matches against Highland Falls Middle School (8-1) and Monroe-Woodbury Team 2 (9-0). John Darling (8 wins out of 9 games), Alister Collins (5 wins out of 6), and John Martellario were the three players on Cornwall HS 1’s team.

Kingston High School, using its entire roster, defeated The Mount Academy, 7-2, Monroe-Woodbury, 6-3, and Cornwall Central HS Team 2, 7-2. Tom Schouten and Nate Matteson each had 7 wins out of 8 games. Other players on the Kingston squad were Michael Liu, Tim Halderman, Ryan McGinn, and Marc Schiffres.

James O’Neill High School Team 1 defeated Cornwall Central HS Team 2, 8-1, and Monroe-Woodbury Team 2, 8.5-0.5, before nipping Monroe-Woodbury Team 1, 5-4. Timothy Mills (7.5 points out of 9), Nick Fischer (5 points out of 6), Ryan McCabe (4 points out of 6), and David Sanz (4 points in 7 games) helped the school win its matches.

Middletown High School, which played its third-round and one of its makeup matches, beat James O’Neill Team 2, 6-3, and Highland Falls Middle School, 6-3. Christian Irizzary (4 wins out of 5 games), Sagardeep Singh (3 wins out of 5 games), and Kyle Pacia (2 wins out of 5 games) aided Middletown in the two match wins.

Rounds 4 and 5 will be played Saturday, February 4, 2012, at Cornwall HS. Several key matches will decide conference winners and playoff teams. The round-four match between Middletown High School and Cornwall Central HS Team 1 may determine the Fischer Conference winner. The James O’Neill HS Team 1 - Kingston HS match in the last round may decide the Kasparov Conference champion. The Mount Academy, with a 2-1 record and one point behind Kingston HS and James O’Neill HS Team 1, must win its last two matches against James O’Neill Team 1 and Monroe-Woodbury HS Team 1 to contend for a playoff spot.

Stay tuned!

Please go to mhscl.lktechnodude.com for more information on the 2011-12 MHSCL season and the league.