Lee’s Summit West Titans Chess Team Wins Holiday Tournament
Posted by GSDispatch Editor in by Lee’s Summit West High School, GSD Online, Sports
On December 19th, 2009 the Titan Chess Team from Lee’s Summit West High School edged out Lamar High School on tie breaks to bring home the 1st place plaque at the Holiday Chess Tournament. Other schools represented were VanHorn High School (3rd place), Truman High School, North Kansas City High School, Fort Osage High School, Liberty High School, and Campbell Middle School. The tournament was sponsored by the Heart of America Chess Association.
Michael Yabut, 11th grader from Lee’s Summit West, came in 1st place overall out of 29 participants. His path to victory included several dramatic finishes in serious time trouble. In one instance Michael completed 20 moves in less than 30 seconds before finally mating his opponent.
Alex Chang, 11th grade, came in 2nd place overall with his only loss of the day coming against his team-mate Michael. It is rare for a tournament to pair up players from the same school because it ensures both a victory and a loss for that team’s score. An exception was deemed necessary by the tournament administrator because Alex and Michael were the only 2 undefeated players left in the tournament by the end of the 4th round.
Other Lee’s Summit West participants included Nick Pemberton, Joshua Shipman, and Stephen Crossland. Each of these earned 3 out of 6 points for the day and contributed vital points to the team’s composite score which claimed top honors at the tournament.
