CHESS Opening Moves

The chess program continued to shine in 2022-23 with players participating in at least 15 tournaments across the state.

In October, junior Cage Puckett went undefeated in his division at a Mississippi Scholastic Chess Association tournament at the Children’s Museum in Jackson. In addition, the Middle School team took second at the MAIS tournament, led by freshmen Caleb Zhu (who went 5-0, finishing 3rd overall), Roy Benjamin, Vincent Sun, and seventh grader Rose Hathorn, who all went 4-1, placing 4th, 6th, and 15th, respectively. The Upper School team won the championship for the sixth year in a row; all 11 US members finished in the top 50% with juniors Eli Biggs at 15th, Cage Puckett at 12th, Nate Walton at 10th, William Shepherd at 7th, and Hayes Elliott at 3rd.

In November, Eli Biggs finished 3rd individually in his division of the Bienville Fall Classic at Roosevelt State Park. Led by team captain Megan Tomlinson, the team (including Biggs, Cage Puckett, Garner Young, and Caleb Zhu) missed the team trophy round by ½ point. In December, freshmen Vincent Sun and Caleb Zhu finished 2nd and 4th place, respectively, at the St. Augustine School winter tournament in Ridgeland, earning Prep a 2nd place team finish in the K-12 Division. In January, eight team members played in several tournaments, picking up wins and increasing their national ratings with the Us Chess Federation. At the Ole Miss Scholastic Chess tournament in February, Vincent

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Sun took 1st place with four wins (including over a 1500-rated player) and drew against a 2100-rated player. That same month, the team of junior AJ Johnson, sophomores Laquarrious Finley and Aaron Lu, and Vincent Sun earned first place in the K-12 Team Division at the St. Augustine School spring tournament.

In March, the team finished out of the trophy round at the Mississippi Chess Association (“MCA”) Team Champions at St. Andrew’s. Sixteen members competed in four rounds each led by Hayes Elliott (4-0 record), Roy Benjamin (3-0-1 record), and Eli Biggs (a 3-1 record). The team finished 3rd overall at the Mississippi Scholastic Chess Association (“MSCA”) Team & Individual Championships in Starkville. Eli Biggs took 4th in the Open Division K-12 Section and Vincent Sun was 3rd. Roy Benjamin was 5th and Megan Tomlinson 4th (and “Top Girl”) in the Under-1200 Division K-12. Freshman Zay Jones went 3-2 in the Under-700 Division at his first, rated tournament. In the MCA Girls’ Chess Championship held at Jackson Prep on March 25, junior Elizabeth Polk won 1st Place in the Reserve Division.

In April, Hayes Elliot took 1st place in his division at an MSCA tournament at the Children’s Museum in Jackson, and Megan Tomlinson took 3rd place.

Opposite page: Upper School team after winning MAIS State Championship for the 6th year. Back row, left to right: Hayes Elliott, Cage Puckett, team captain Megan Tomlinson, William Shepherd, Garner Young, Laquarrious Finley; middle row, left to right: Zay Jones, Houston Vaughn, Eli Boggs, Elizabeth Polk; sitting: Nate Walton; not pictured: Roy Benjamin.

This page: (Top) Elizabeth Polk receives her Reserve Division 1st place trophy from Beth Thrasher, Director of the MCA Girls’ State Championship on Saturday, March 25, 2023. (Second) Competition floor at Bienville Fall Classic in November 2022. (Third, left) Middle School team with MAIS 2nd Place trophy (left to right) Vincent Sun, Caleb Zhu, Roy Benjamin, and Rose Hathorne. (Third, right) Eli Biggs with medal won at Bienville Fall Classic in November 2022. (Bottom) Seventh grader Rose Hathorn prepares to face off against senior and team captain Megan Tomlinson in the final round of the MCA Girls’ State Championship.