From left to right: Jaxper Tsai (first grade, 4th place),  Lincoln Liquigan-Pador (second grade, 3rd place),  Isaac Lu (second grade, 1st place),  Rishi Iyer (third grade, 1st place),  Wyatt McLean (third grade, 1st place), Kaylie Yao (second grade, 2nd place), and Sophia Kim (third grade, 2nd place).

The 51st Morrison Chess Scholastic Tournament hosted by the Fullerton Lions Club was held on Saturday, February 1, at the Ladera Vista Jr. High gym. This event, organized and financed by Dewain Barber for the past thirty years, provides students with valuable experience in chess tournaments and attracts participants from the greater Los Angeles area. For the past ten years, the Fullerton Lions, with support from the Fullerton School District, have co-sponsored this event. Due to Dewain’s health issues, the Fullerton Lions took full responsibility for organizing and conducting this year’s tournament, with assistance from Dewain and organizer Pete Baron.

A total of 73 students participated, with the majority coming from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, which had 15, 19, and 15 participants, respectively. The largest representation was from the Santa Fe and Long Beach areas. There were thirteen sections, with the top three placements in each section receiving medals. It was disappointing that, despite notifications sent to all school district parents, only 10 students from Fullerton attended the event. Remarkably, of those, eight were from Arborland Montessori, earning three first-place and two second-place trophies, marking the best performance among all participating schools! The two other Fullerton school representatives were Arnik Raina (1st grade, Beechwood) and Julien Pak (5th grade, Sunset Lane), who earned second place.

The next important chess event is the Fullerton City Chess Championship, which will be held at 6:30 PM on Friday, May 9, in the Ladera Vista Jr. High Multi-Purpose Room. Both non-rated and rated players are welcome; however, participation is limited to students who either live in Fullerton or attend Fullerton schools. The top player in each grade will be named City Champion for that grade. Two other students from Laguna Road, Kevin and Owen Tse, played in a concurrent USCF-rated tournament, held in the Ladera Vista Multi-purpose room.

View of the gym as the tournament started. Shows Nayleen, Baron and Dewain.