Team Victory for Kings and Queens.

The Kings and Queens Club of Glenview, Illinois took a very clear first place this past weekend in the Primary Division (Grades K-3) at the National Youth Action tournament in Atlanta. The Youth Action tourney, a grueling marathon of an event consisted of 9 rounds of G30 chess. The tournament attracted 385 participants from across the country, including some of the top national youth players.

The Kings and Queens Club team claimed the Championship by scoring 25.5 points, a full 3.5 points ahead of its nearest rival from Mason Elementary in Duluth, Georgia. The Kings and Queens squad was led by Scott Drier of Wilmette (7.0/9.0) who finished in 6th place individually. The team also consists of Gurveer Singh (8th place - 6.5 pts), Gavin Mc Clanahan (9th - 6.5 pts), Bryce McClanahan (22nd place - 6 pts), Eddie McDougal (23rd place- 6pts) and Dean Li (5pts). See http://www.uschess.org/tournaments/2005/2005NYA/ for all the details.

The primary organizers of the Kings and Queens Club are Tamara Golovey, Leonid Bondar, and Mila Finkelstein, all of whom were major chess trainers in the Former Soviet Union at the Academy of Sport in Minsk, Belorus. Their students have included GM Boris Gelfand, who rose to be the number 3 rated player in the world, and GM Yury Shulman one of the top players on the current US scene, as well as many other champions. More info about the Kings and Queens Club can be found at http://www.kqchessclub.com/.

A happy Thanksgiving to you all…...and from Atlanta, Georgia that’s the way it was.

(Written by Brad Rosen)