Team members are, from left, juniors Kian Patel and Gabriel Skoro, seniors Duane Lee and Clemen Deng, and sophomore Anders Olsen.
Photo and Article by Nancy Keller.
Lincoln High School Varsity chess team was like a ferocious bear, shaking off pesky attackers one by one at the 2016 Oregon High School Chess Team State Championships held at Junction City High School. The Lincoln High School chess team consisted of Clemen Deng on first board, Kian Patel on second board, Gabriel Skoro on third board, Duane Lee on fourth board and Anders Olsen on fifth board and is coached by Stephen Runion.
Round 1, Lincoln shrugged off Sheldon High School from Eugene 4 to 1. Round 2, Lincoln had to compete against Wilson who ultimately took second place overall. Lincoln manage to win 3:2. Clackamas took Lincoln on in round 3 but got smashed as Lincoln won 4.5 to 0.5. Clackamas ultimately took third place overall. Then is was La Salle’s turn in round 4 and Lincoln won 3.5 to 1.5. La Salle ultimately took fifth place overall.
Then it was Coquille’s Varsity Team during round 5. First board player Clemen Deng was paired up against Coquille’s first board Aaron Grabinsky who is a National Master and 12th grade National co champion and about 250 rating points above Clemen. Clemen managed to get a draw against this higher level player. Boards 3, 4 and 5 smashed Coquille’s players and Lincoln won 3.5 to 1.5. Coquille ultimately won 4th place overall.
Thus Lincoln was undefeated after the five round event and won the Overall Varsity Championship and a $200 per player scholarship provided by First Community Credit Union along with medals and trophies.
Lincoln High School did not stop there as the Lincoln Junior Varsity chess team captured first place overall in the Junior Varsity Section. The junior varsity team had players Dylan Huard, Noah Gladen-Kilarsky, Andrew Sheiman, Felix to and Alexander Pham. They managed to beat 2nd place Clackamas and drew Jesuit High School in round 4. But Clackamas beat Jesuit so Jesuit slid into 3rd place. Robert Gray Middle School put up a tough stance in the Junior Varsity section winning 4th place overall and placing first in the middle school division.
Summary of results:
Overall champion and winner of the 2016 OHSCTA scholarships
Lincoln High School
Varsity Overall
1st Lincoln 6A
2nd Wilson 6A
3rd Clackamas 6A
Varsity 6A
1st Lincoln
2nd Wilson
Varisty 4A/5A
1st LaSalle
2nd Crescent Valley
Varsity 1A/2A/3A
1st Coquille
2nd Pleasant Hill
Junior Varsity Overall
1st Lincoln
2nd Clackamas
3rd Jesuit
Junior Varsity 6A
1st Lincoln
2nd Clackamas
Junior Varsity 4A/5A
1st Hillsboro
2nd LaSalle
Junior Varsity 1A/2A/3A
1st Delphian
2nd Myrtle Point
Middle School
1st Robert Gray
2nd Coquille
Open Teams
1st Clackamette (Clackamas and Willamette combo)
2nd Cottage Grove
3rd Al Kennedy and Delphian combo
Board Overall
Board 1 Simon Venter
Board 2 Josiah Perkins
Board 3 Gabriel Skoro
Board 4 Travis Croteau
Board 5 Anders Olsen
Class 6A
Board 1 Clemen Deng
Board 2 Nathan Jewell
Board 3 Riley Waugh
Board 4 Duane Lee
Board 5 Arya Naghdi
Class 5A/4A
Board 1 Michael Moore
Board 2 Kristian Villa
Board 3 Nicholas Richardson
Board 4 Joseph Nguyen
Board 5 Sean Richardson
Class 3A/2A/1A
Board 1 Aaron Grabinsky
Board 2 Vianna Phillip
Board 3 Nathan Faber
Board 4 Jordan Lyda
Board 5 Jordan Henderson
Individuals
1st Cole Evered
2nd Christain Gomez
3rd Billy Want
CLICK HERE for a xtable of the event.
Event was held Feb. 26-27, 2016 with Norman May the tournament director.