Montessori wins chess title

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Jaewoon Jung and Aiden
Skinner, both 5 years old, combined their efforts and took second place among Ohio kindergarten
competitors.

The Montessori School of Bowling Green won several honors and the title of the Ohio 1st Grade Chess
Champions on Saturday at the 2011 Ohio Grade Level Chess Championships at the University of Akron.
In all, 18 Montessori School of Bowling Green students participated at the K-12 event, in which
approximately 400 Ohio students competed, representing 128 elementary schools, junior highs and high
schools.
Among the youngest players in the state to compete at this event were Aiden Skinner and Jaewoon Jung,
both just 5 years old. They combined their efforts and took second place among Ohio kindergarten
players. The duo scored a total of 3.5 points in five rounds the kindergarten section.
Montessori first-graders became the 2011 Ohio 1st Grade Chess Champions with a team of six players.
Representing the school were Drew Acus, Joey Hover, Jackson Krueger, Hannah Mathey, Yelia Xu and Albert
Yang. Yang led this team with a top score of 2.5 points followed by Xu and Acus who each contributed two
points, while Hover, Mathey and Krueger rounded out the scoring with one point each.
The Montessori second-grade team narrowly missed another chess title for the school by just half a point
finishing in second place. Representing the team were Isabelle Broman, Yeowoon Jung, Bryan Li and Jack
Suelzer. The team combined to score 8.5 points in five rounds.
Winning in the third-grade section were Montessori students Eric Clawson, Jeremy Mahoney and Sofia
Wells-Jensen. All three students combined to score 5.5 points in the most tightly contested section in
the entire tournament. Five schools were within a single point of first place at the end of the
tournament, with the Montessori team finishing in fifth place.
The Montessori School competed in more sections with J.J. Poiry scoring three draws in the fourth-grade
section, while sixth grade students Jared Bechstein and Jessie Poiry combined to finish fourth place as
a team. Bechstein was the highest scoring BG player at the tournament and finished 12th place among
sixth-graders in the state.
The chess players are coached by Jim Van Vorhis as well as several Montessori School of Bowling Green
alumni who are avid chess competitors.
The Montessori School educates students ages 3 through the sixth grade in a hands-on, authentic learning
environment.

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