Tournament Results (NEWCA 1)

On Saturday, December 1st, the Neenah Chess Team traveled to Waupaca for their first tournament of the 2012-2013 season.  The varsity Red team, which has not lost a league match since the 2010 season is again undefeated through the first four rounds of play.  They are in a first place tie with rival Marion, but the two teams will meet when league play resumes on January 5th.  The varsity White team played several close matches, but finished the day in seventh place.  The Junior Varsity team finished with three players in the top 10 in the league, and is one-half point behind first place Marion. 

View the results.

2012 National Chess Championships

The Neenah Chess Team traveled to Minneapolis this weekend to compete in the 7 round 2012 National High School Chess Championships.  9 Neenah players competed in various sections of the tournament, playing in games that lasted up to four hours each.

 In each section, 4 players make up a full team, but in the unrated section our 3 players accumulated enough points to finish in 15th place despite being shorthanded.  Junior Eric Payne finished in 9th place overall in that section with 5.5 out of 7 points.  Nick Breuer, an 8th grader at Shattuck Middle School finished in 16th place in the U800 section with 5 out of 7 points, and Senior Patrick Cunningham finished in 25th place with 5 out of 7 points in the very tough U1600 section.  Congratulations to all of the Neenah chess players for their fantastic results!

2012 Nationals Day Three

Yesterday's results were mixed for Neenah, as all of our undefeated players lost or drew at least once by the end of the day.  Most have won at least half their games, and several have already clinched winning records.  As I write this, our top two players, Nick Breuer (5.0) and Eric Payne (5.5) have returned from round six with victories, while the others are still playing.

2012 Nationals Day Two

The cold, wet weather was easily outshone by the heated competition inside the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis on Friday.  The good news trickled in throughout the first round as one by one, all nine Neenah players came back to the skittles rooms and reported victory.  Things cooled slightly in the second round as we captured 5 1/2 out of the 9 possible points.  5 Neenah players remain undefeated, but much can change on Saturday!

2012 Nationals Day One

The chess team "bus" arrived safe and sound in Minneapolis on Thursday afternoon.  The kids and their travel-weary coach had enough time to check in and grab a quick supper before participating in the K-12 blitz tournament.  There are some very strong players in the blitz, and while our players did win about half their games, the top competition was too strong for a great showing.  But as the main goal of playing in the blitz was to have fun and warm up for the main event, our mission was a success!

The St Paul Pioneer Press has a nice article on the first day of the tournament.  Three of our players made appearances.  Aaron Lambrecht can be seen playing while one of the TDs is being interviewed in the video, and Ryan Breuer is visible shaking hands with his opponent in the last photo in the article.  Sarah Murphy is quoted in the article itself!

State Scholastic Chess Championships

State will be held on Saturday and Sunday March 17th-18th at Reeve Memorial Student Union, UW Oshkosh.  We have reserved room 214 as the Neenah Team Room, so this will be the main gathering place for students between rounds or for parents who wish to visit and observe.

We will be taking a team bus from Neenah High School.  The bus will leave from doorway 6 at 8:00am both Saturday and Sunday.  Please arrive at least 10 minutes early.

Our return time on Saturday will most likely be between 8 and 9 pm, and on Sunday we will most likely return around 5:30 or 6:00pm.  Students will need to have food or money for two meals (lunch and dinner) Saturday, and for lunch on Sunday.

Students who are planning to attend but have arranged other transportation MUST let the coaches know ahead of time.  If you are not at the high school Saturday morning, and we have not heard from you, you will be dropped from the tournament.  Similarly, if you are riding to the tournament on the bus but arranging other transportation home, you must let us know so that we are not searching for you at the end of the day.

	Varsity	Junior Varsity, K-8 and K-5	Awards Ceremony
Saturday:	Round 1 - 9:30	Round 1 - 9:30
	Round 2 - 1:15	Round 2 - Noon
	Round 3 - 5:00	Round 3 - 2:30
		Round 4 - 5:00
Sunday:	Round 4 - 9:00	Round 5 - 9:00	In varsity playing room
	Round 5 - 12:30	Round 6 - 12:30	approximately 4:00 P.M.

NEWCA Postseason Tournament February 25

Saturday, February 25th, Neenah will be hosting the NEWCA Postseason Tournament. Neenah players should arrive at 8:30, and should check in with Coach Breuer upon arrival. Trophies and medals for both the regular season and postseason will be awarded at the end of the day, generally around 3:00pm.

Luke Ludwig of System Chess Supplies will be on hand with chess books and equipment for sale, and we will have our famous brat fry and concession stand at full capacity!  Parents and family are encouraged to attend the awards ceremony, or to drop by during the day to observe a day of chess playing and sample the cuisine.

Our address is:

1275 Tullar Road
Neenah, WI 54956

Enter the school through Door 4, which is off of the same lot as the main entrance (Lot B).  Skittles will be in the cafeteria, JV will be in another section of the cafeteria, and varsity will be in the library.

Tournament Results (NEWCA 5)

On Saturday, February 18th, the Neenah chess team traveled to Marion to compete in the final tournament of the NEWCA regular season.  Neenah's varsity Red Team finished the season in top form, winning all four matches and finishing in first place with a perfect 21-0 record.  The varsity White Team finished the season in 5th place.  Neenah's Junior Varsity had a strong day, finishing in first place for the day and climbing into second place for the season ahead of a pack of contenders.

Neenah will host the NEWCA Postseason tournament on Saturday, February 25th.

Individual and Team Final Standings for the regular season are available on the results page.

Tournament Results (NEWCA 4)

On Saturday, the Neenah chess team traveled to Nekoosa to compete in the fourth NEWCA tournament of the season.  The varsity Red team remained undefeated, winning 13 individual games with two draws and no losses.  The varsity White team won two out of three matches and moved into third place by grinding out a tough win in the last match.

Neenah's junior varsity finished in third place for the day and remains 1 game out of second place for the season.

Individual and Team Standings are available on the results page.

Tournament Results (NEWCA 3)

On Saturday, the Neenah chess team traveled to Green Bay Preble High School to participate in the third NEWCA tournament of the year.  With its undefeated season on the line, the varsity red team faced each opponent for a second time in an intense seven-round "quick" tournament.  The red team escaped unscathed, preserving its perfect record while winning 33 of 35 individual games.

Neenah's varsity white team won 4 of 7 matches, moving within 1/2 point of third place.  The junior varsity team, featuring many freshmen and a large contingent from both Shattuck and Horace Mann Middle Schools had a strong day and moved into a tie for second place.  Neenah will look to continue its dominance in Nekoosa on February 4th.

Individual and Team Standings are available on the results page.

On January 14-15th, the 47th Annual Northeastern Open was held in Neenah, WI.  The NEO is run by the "other" Northeast Wisconsin Chess Association, having independently chosen the same name that we use for our chess league.  Our NEWCA was well represented this year, with players from Waupaca and SPASH participating as well as large contingents from Neenah and Marion.  In the Novice section, Alex Librande of Waupaca finished in first place, while Caleb Ganster of Marion won the Reserve section. In the final round William Cunningham of Neenah drew his own coach on board one to take second place behind Caleb and stay ahead of the log jam of 4th place tiebreakers.  In the Open section, 2011 Neenah graduate Tyler Thomas finished tied for 2nd place (5th overall using tiebreakers), including a win against U8 World Champion Awonder Liang.

The Appleton Post-Crescent has a nice article about the tournament.

Tournament Results (NEWCA 2)

On Saturday January 7th, Neenah High School hosted the second tournament of the 2011-12 chess season. Neenah's varsity Red team won three matches, completing a sweep of all opponents and gaining sole possession of first place. They will face each team twice more during the rest of the season. The varsity White team won one of their three matches and is in fifth place for the season.

Neenah's Junior Varsity team finished second in Saturday's competition. They remain in fourth place for the season in a tightly contested race.

Individual and Team Standings are available on the results page.