Our Team's Path To NYC Championship

This article was originally written by WFM Ana Izoria, the coach at Nest in 2016-2017.

In a windowless, dimly lit, and rowdy room where children ran in and out with cheerful voices and colorful notation books, I looked up gasping for air, then searched for words to say to a 10-year-old sitting across from me.

He had lost the worst kind of way. Most losses are easier to get over -- you go back to one or two mistakes that cost you the game and fix them. If you blunder, feel free to beat yourself up because what were you thinking!

But I couldn't say any of it to my student - he was heartbroken and looked to me for answers. He had struggled for two continuous hours unable to come up with a plan, unable to put up a fight. That hurt. 

Thirty-five students from Manhattan's Nest+m teamed up to compete for New York City Championship title in the field of roughly 1500 players during the first week of February. At the end of a two day chess marathon and a rollercoaster of moves and emotions, our players finished first in K-3 Championship, K-6 Championship, collected silver in K-3 U1000, and bronze in High School Championship. Multiple players won individual awards and all proceeded to celebrate the manifestation of their hard work. 

In the games I analyzed, discovery attacks were everywhere! Can you guess what Matthew played as white?   

Elementary Champions: Jai Shah, Matthew Chin, Charles Hua, Momoca Mairaj, Davis Zong (Eric Tang not pictured) 

Primary Champions: Dylan Ma, Romir Muherjee, Spencer Chin, Maya Nozaki, coach Ana Izoria

The first steps towards championship in our K-12 New York City public school are taken in Kindergarten classrooms. Our young players get weekly instruction through 2nd grade and many take their best moves to city, state, national or world youth championships. At Nest+m, chess is not a solo sport. It's a game that builds our school community, bonds students and their families, and inspires many to be part of it. 

Breakfast of champions: a morning practice session.

The students try their best in a rook-and-pawn ending.

When I got to my classroom at 7:30am the day following a snowstorm to celebrate our team, three dozen young players had piled their jackets and backpacks in the back of the room and cheered as I told them they could pick their own partners. It's those cold mornings, upsetting tournament losses, resilience of students dedicated to the game and one another, support of parents, school staff and our team of coaches, that lead to friendships, triumphant games, and championships.