by Larry King
The
Mid-Hudson Scholastic Chess League s(MHSCL) tarted its 19th season
after a 20-month hiatus due to Covid. Prior to the start of the season, the
coaches decided to change the format from a head-to-head team competition to holding
four five-round Swiss tournaments. The top four scores of individuals would
count for the team’s score in each Swiss. The team with the best cumulative score
after the End-Of-Season last Swiss would
win the Championship.
Cornwall
Central won the 2021-22 Championship, accumulating 63 points. Monroe-Woodbury
finished second with 55.5 cumulative points and Pawling HS finished with 22
cumulative points.
It was Cornwall
Central’s sixth title. The Mount Academy and Newburgh Free Academy each won
four championships.
In the in
the individual competition, Ben Harrell of Cornwall won 18 games and drew two
games (total 19 points). The two draws were against teammate Nathaniel Silichta,
who finished second with 16 points. Chris Mastrokostas of Monroe-Woodbury
finished with 14 points.
Ben Harrell
finished with the third-best regular season point total in league history.
Jared Montal of Monroe-Woodbury had 21 points in the 2003-04 season and Stephen
Decker of The Mount Academy had accumulated 19.5 points in the 2017-18.
Monroe-Woodbury HS - Second Place
Fall Swiss: Ben
Harrell won the tournament on tiebreaks over Nathaniel Slichta. Both players
scored 4.5 points. Players with four points were Chris Mastrokostas of
Monroe-Woodbury, David Lanuti of Monroe-Woodbury, Kaelan Morales of Cornwall
Central, Zion Barnes of Monroe-Woodbury, and Ed Li of Monroe-Woodbury. Cornwall
Central edged Monroe-Woodbury 16.5 – 16.0. Pawling High School finished with
7.5 points.
Holiday
Swiss: Ben Harrell won the individual tournament with a 5-0 sweep. Matt
Safizadeh of Monroe-Woodbury, Nathaniel Slichta, and Zion Barnes each finished
with four points. Cornwall Central again edged Monroe-Woodbury 15.0 – 14.5.
Winter
Swiss: Cornwall Central extended its league by scoring 16 points to
Monroe-Woodbury 12. Ben Harrell was again perfect, winning five games. Kaelan
Morales and Nathaniel Slichta Scored three points apiece.
End-Of-Season
Swiss: Cornwall Central (15.5team points) and Ben Harrell (4.5 points) finished
winning the team and individual titles. Players finishing with four points were
Nathaniel Slichta, Andrew Wingfield (of Cornwall Central), and Chris Mastrokostas.
Attention Mid-Hudson
High and Middle Schools: We are looking for teams to join the league in
2022-23. If your school is interested, please email MHSCL president Doug Stack
at dstack@cornwallschools.com.
Please go to
www.mhschess.com for detailed information on the league.
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