Marisol Terrazas (Tournament Coordinator, Fullerton Lions)

The 16th annual Fullerton City Scholastic Chess Championship, sponsored by the Fullerton Host Lions with significant help from the Fullerton School District since its inception, was held on April 26 at Ladera Vista Jr. High. To reduce the number of no-shows and to raise funds for expenses, we charged $5 for each participant. The tournament organizer this year was Lion Marisol Terraza, who also organized the Morrison Scholastic in February; with that experience, she ran one of the best-organized tournaments in memory despite the added complication of collecting money and the shortage of section monitor volunteers.

Lewis Gerbl was the tournament director, and Dewain Barber made the introductory remarks. Barber supported the cause by providing chess sets and boards, medals for third places, and keychain tags for all students. The tournament finished in an impressive three hours—an all-time record!       

The number of elementary school and Junior High students participating was 52, slightly lower than last year (58).  Nine different grade-level tournaments were run (K-7 and an 8 & 7 section); each winner is the 2024 city champion for their grade (see below). The winner of this year’s “SuperChamp section,” Marcus Vasquez, is Fullerton’s 2024 SCHOLASTIC CHESS CHAMPION, a title to be proud of.

Three schools tied for the largest number of participants: Acacia, Fisler, and Laguna Road.  These schools also garnered the most trophies: 14, 11, and 4; Arborland Montessori also had 4. Only two schools could claim more than two city champions: Acacia and Laguna Road. Weighted rating of trophies (3, 2, and 1 points for 1st, 2nd & 3d places, respectively) were again dominated by Acacia (14), Fisler (11), and Laguna Road (9), with Arborland a clear fourth at 7.  

Fullerton City Chess Champions, for their respective grades

GRADE_______PLACEMENT______NAME_________________School

Kindergrtn_______1st___________Arnik Raina_____________Acacia;

•                           2nd__________Stellan Matagos__________Acacia;
•                           3rd__________Hudson Elwood__________Acacia

Marlene (Fullerton Lions President), Olivia Leave (1st grade, 1st Place), and Art Terrazas (Volunteer)

First​_____________1st___________Olivia Leav______________Laguna Road;

•                          2nd___________Izykiel Park______________Fisler;
•                          3rd___________Kaylee Yao_______________Arborland Montessori*

Second/1________1st___________Harvey Sim______________Covenant Christian Acad.;

•                          2nd___________Joshua Yee_______________Sunset;
•                          3rd____________Sophia Kim______________Arborland*

Second/2_______1st____________Rayam Shah_____________Arborland;

•                         2nd___________Dael Kim_________________Fisler;
•                         3rd___________Eahn Shin________________Laguna Road

Third​__________1st____________Owen Tse________________Laguna Road;

•                        2nd___________Samuel Bin______________Fisler;
•                        3rd____________Wyatt Chenn____________Acacia

Fourth_________1st_____________Tianyu Xiong__________Acacia;

•                    
  

  Harvey Sim, 2nd grade champion (Lion president Marlene Duffin on the left, section monitor Carmen Childress on the left)

  2nd_____________Avi Parekh_____________Arborland*;

•                        3rd_____________Eamon Piraglia_________Beechwood

Fifth__________1st______________Jayden Baek____________Acacia;

•                       2nd_____________Kevin Tse_______________Laguna Road;
•                       3rd______________Henry Hazelton________Golden Hill

Sixth_________1st_______________Joshua Sun_____________Sunset;

•                     2nd______________Nathan Seungju Yo______Acacia
•                     3rd______________Aaron Yen_______________Acacia

7th/8th_______1st______________Isaac Chun_______________Fisler–7th grade;

•                     2nd______________Aanuv Biyani_____________Parks Jr.–8th;
•                     3rd_______________Hosheen Kim____________Ladera Vista Jr.–8th)

Marcus Vasquez and Dylan Wang (Superchamps 1st and 2nd Place) with Pete Baron

SUPERCHAMP 

•                        1st_______________Marcus Andrew James Vasquez______Troy);
•                        2nd______________Dylan Wang____________________________Fisler;
•                       3rd_______________Dylan Ardaya__________________________Troy

OTHER PARTICIPANTS (by school and grade): 

• Acacia: Kingston Tuzhang (K), Albert Ko (3d); 
• ArborlandMontessori (Wyatt McLean (2nd); 
• Beechwood: Ray Ha Yoon Seung (1st),  Ian Ha Yoon Seung (3d), ArshRaina (6th); 
• Fisler: Evan Lee (2nd), Connor Chun (3d), Heonjun Lee (4th), Justin Rhee (6th), Ethan Chun (6th); 
• Golden Hill: Christopher Joon Kim(4th), Ryon Cabrera (5th); 
• Hermosa Drive: Ukrit Gupta (1st),  Sebastian Barrancos-Santiago (1st); 
• Laguna Road: Iroh Shin (2nd), Kevin Kyumin Roh (2nd), Elin Eo (4th), Ruben Sanchez (4th), Aanya Dialani (5); 
• Pacific Drive: Philip Sanchez (1st), Evan Lee (2nd)

More photos from the tournament, along with an updated 15 past Fullerton Chess Championships’ “Wall of Fame,” can be found on www.fullertonlionclub.org after 5/20.