Boys, girls chess teams each finish in top 10

SPARTA. This is the first time that the high school entered an all-girls team in the National High School Tournament.

Sparta /
| 09 Apr 2023 | 04:38

The Sparta High School chess team returned from the National High School Tournament in Washington, D.C., with two top-10 finishes.

The boys team finished fifth in its division, while the girls team finished ninth in its division.

This is the first time that Sparta entered an all-girls team.

The boys were in tight competition with Gulliver School of Florida, Julia Masterman and Abington high schools of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson of Alexandria, Va., and Phillips Exeter Academy of New Hampshire.

Imad Panjwani led the team with five wins and a draw. Vaiden Pollard and Rowan Mendel each had four wins and a draw. Griffin Brawer had four wins. Ian Bellush, with two wins and a draw, and Ayush Iyer, with two wins, rounded out the team.

Aneesh Iyer had five wins and Brendan Wick had four wins and a draw in a separate section.

Surekha Selvaraj and Shealyn Reekie each had five wins for the girls team. Olivia Flores had four wins and Chloe Brawer had three wins and a draw for the girls.