Michigan Primary (K-3) Team Championship

By Jennifer Skidmore

For the first time since its inception, the Primary team championship topped fifty entrants. Though it has hovered on the cusp of this mark for several years now, the 2005 tournament added twelve teams more than the 2004 field bringing the number of entries in the largest Primary team championship to fifty-two. Defending co-champions Ann Arbor King Korchnoi and Ann Arbor Thurston Topalov both had all new team members, but were still seeded amongst the top ten schools. Twelve teams had average team ratings above 600 and over half of the teams in the field were rated.

Of the eventual trophy winners, only Utica Roberts A faltered in the first round, losing to the Thurston Timman team. Winning teams included Monroe Custer A, with 2004 Young Children’s Champion, Michael Carter playing first board, both of the defending co-champions, and a team from Troy Bemis, making their first appearance in this tournament, despite having a team of experienced players.

Custer, Bemis, Thurston Topalov, King Kasparov, Okemos Central A and Okemos Wardcliff maintained their perfect scores after the second round. Other teams with two points included Okemos Cornell and the brand-new team, Cheyenne A. Lansing Marble, with first board, William Miklavic, drew with top seeded Bobcean. Games in round three included a table one rematch of the 2004 final round. This match, like the 2004 game, resulted in a draw between Thurston Topalov and King Kasparov. Other matches were more decisive as Custer, Ann Arbor Go Like the Wind, Bemis, and Central A all won to become the only schools with perfect scores.

Table one was once again cursed for decisive result as Central A and Bemis drew. Custer became the lone perfect score with a win over Go Like the Wind, as King Kasparov, and Thurston Topalov both won to bring the number of teams with three and a half out of four to four. Thus, the top teams were poised for challenging matches in the trophy round. As well as the trophies at stake, students scoring three and a half or more individual points would win gold, silver, or bronze medals.

The large number of students winning medals is too numerous to mention, but please see their names and pictures on pages 11 and 12. Congratulations to all of them for their considerable efforts throughout the day.

Teams needed to score four or more points to take home a top five trophy. Bemis finished in fifth place after a final round draw with Wardcliff. Go Like the Wind and Roberts B won their last matches to finish in third and fourth places, respectively. With a win over Central A, Thurston Topalov became the only team with four and a half points to finish all alone in second place. A close match on table one between King Kasparov and Custer was determined by a hard-fought endgame on board one. Custer maintained their perfect score throughout the day to become the 2005 Primary team champions.

Michigan Elementary (K-5) Team Championship

By Jennifer Skidmore

The addition of the K-5 Reserve section helped to temper the field for the 2005 Elementary team championship. There were no easy rounds for the thirty-six teams that entered the section. With the exception of a victory by Detroit Wayne over Ann Arbor Wines on table one, there were few surprises for the first round.

However, there was no shortage of surprises for round two. Defending co-champions, Ann Arbor King, assumed a spot on table one, but they were immediately removed when Okemos Hiawatha drew them. Also drawing were Utica Roberts E who faced the Spring Lake Kings on table two. Ann Arbor Thurston Tal became one of five teams with a perfect score after their victory over defending co-champions, Okemos Central. The other teams with two points were Okemos Cornell, Lansing Montessori Children’s House, Ann Arbor Logan A, and Wayne.

The field settled slightly after round three. Two teams, Cornell and Thurston Tal attained perfect scores by defeating Logan A and Montessori. King, Hiawatha, Detroit Country Day, and Roberts E all won their matches to move to two and a half out of three.

Round four match-ups saw Thurston Tal make short work of a very strong Cornell team on table 1. King and Hiawatha won their respective matches over Country Day and Roberts E to bring these teams to a three and a half out of four-point total. Memphis became the second team with three points by defeating Roberts G.

Many individuals earning medals did not compete for one of the teams that finished in the trophy ring. The efforts of these students are too numerous to mention, but included gold medal performances from Eric Larson of Wines, Valerie Peng from Logan C, Amane Tawarada from Logan B, Leon Sunstein from Ann Arbor Emerson, Ketan Brodeur from Okemos Bennet Woods, and Krithika Swaminathan from Thurston Taimanov.

Teams earning trophies for three and a half match points finished in fifth through tenth place. Memphis defeated Roberts E to finish in third place with four points. Cornell defeated Hiawatha to finish in second place, also with four points. Eyes then turned to table one where King faced Thurston Tal in a match with many of the same players from the draw between these two schools in the final round of the 2004 Primary Championship. However, as both teams had had a year to improve and not all of the players were the same, King was able to emerge victorious and repeat as the K-5 Elementary team champions.

Michigan Elementary (K-5) Team Reserve

By Jennifer Skidmore

A new section became part of the elementary team tournament this year. In an effort to reduce the large number of teams in the K-5 section, we attempted to split the field by adding a K-5 Reserve section. This new section would also give players the opportunity to gain more experience before matching up against the large number of veteran teams that now comprise the participants in the K-5 championship section. Nineteen teams joined the fray in the inaugural event. A large number of upsets and draws in the first round spoke to the competitive spirit of the players.

Top-seeded Okemos Hiawatha won a challenging match in round one over Ann Arbor Go Like the Wind. Other teams winning in the first round included Detroit Wayne, Memphis, Spring Lake Jeffers Z, and Grosse Pointe B. Grosse Pointe B, Spring Lake Jeffers Z, and Memphis were again victorious in round two. Grosse Pointe B defeated Okemos Hiawatha and Memphis beat Wayne. After drawing in round one, Monroe Manor and Utica Roberts F both moved to one and a half out of two, by winning over Shelby Twp. Crissman and Monroe Hollywood B, respectively.

With only three perfect scores remaining, difficult match-ups came a round earlier than usual. Memphis defeated Jeffers Z on table one to become the first perfect score and Roberts F defeated Grosse Pointe B to eliminate the possibility of any others. Round four saw these two winners dead-lock with each other on table one. Monroe Manor and Grosse Pointe A joined the mix at the top with round four victories of their own.

The round five match-ups on the top three boards all involved teams who would receive trophies, but the places were determined by the results. A win by Grosse Pointe A on table three propelled them into third place and moved Wayne into fifth. A loss by Jeffers Z to Roberts F on table two, earned these teams the sixth and second place trophies, respectively. Memphis lost on table two, placing them in fourth place. A victory by Monroe Manor on table one earned them the first K-5 Reserve title.

Michigan Elementary (K-6) Team Championship

By Jennifer Skidmore

Though attendance for the K-6 Elementary section has dipped in recent years, the field seems to have found a fixed number as twenty-five teams entered the field compared to the twenty-six participants in the 2004 event.

Top-seeded East Grand Rapids returned to the tournament after a year’s absence. They were victorious in round one as were most other higher rated teams including Detroit Bates A, Okemos Chippewa, Birmingham Covington school and Detroit Duffield A. Teams, with perfect scores after the second round, included Bates A, Birmingham Covington, Ann Arbor Forsythe, Chippewa, East Grand Rapids, and the Spring Lake Knights.

Round three matches separated the elite teams from the rest of field as only two perfect scores emerged from the mix. Table two saw a draw between Chippewa and Bates. The Spring Lake Bishops won their second round in a row to become the third team with two and a half out of three points. The Spring Lake Knights defeated East Grand Rapids on table one to become the first team with a perfect score. They were joined by Birmingham Covington who defeated Forsythe. Utica Roberts H won their second match in a row, this time over Shelby Twp. Crissman Kings A.

Two teams from Spring Lake took to tables one and two in round four, but neither was able to score a victory as the Knights were defeated by Birmingham Covington on table one and the Bishops lost to Chippewa on table two. This left Birmingham Covington as the lone perfect score. Bates A joined Chippewa with 3.5 points after defeated East Grand Rapids on table three.

This small and competitive section made winning individual medals all the more difficult. A handful of players competing for teams that did not win trophies were successful in the medal hunt. These included gold medalist Yosef Moore who played first board for Bates B.

Trophy matches in the final round were hard-fought. Only three teams finished with three and a half points. Chippewa lost in the final round to Birmingham Covington, while Duffield A and Forsythe finished in fifth and fourth places, respectively by drawing each other in the final round. Roberts H won their final match over the Spring Lake Bishops to finish in third place, the only team with four points. Bates was victorious over the Spring Lake Knights to finish in second place, the only team with four and a half points. By virtue of their final round victory over Chippewa, Birmingham Covington became the 2005 Elementary K-6 champions with a 5-0 score.