On Saturday May 24th 2014, the chess club at River Islands Technology Academy hosted the inaugural Lathrop Mayor’s Cup Chess Tournament. Thirty children were in attendance for a five round USCF rated chess tournament which was the first of its kind ever held in Lathrop, California. The eight hour chess extravaganza also served as a fund raising event for River Islands Technology Academy with all profits from the food sales going directly to the school.
Lathrop’s mayor, Sonny Dhaliwal, came and met with all the participating students. Mayor Dhaliwal was extremely proud to observe so many of Lathrop’s children playing chess.
“I had the honor to attend the first Mayor’s Cup chess tournament last Saturday at River Islands Technology Academy. I was so happy to see youngsters having such a great time with their families. I am so thankful to Chris Torres for his hard work and dedication. My best wishes are always with Chris and his family. Congratulations to all who took part in the Mayor’s Cup on a job well done.” – Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal
After Mayor Dhaliwal had taken a moment to speak with everyone in attendance, Brenda Scholl, principal of River Islands Technology Academy, gave him a tour of their brand new campus and told him about RitechA’s first school year. At the end of the day Mrs. Scholl returned to present the awards to the participants of all five sections.
In the K-1 section Maddox Ramos won the first place trophy winning four of his five games. Rosaleia Torres took second with three wins and a draw. Hayden Hokanson placed third. Mia Viloria tied for fourth place with Rio Torres-O’Callaghan. The River Islands Technology Academy Chess Team took first place in the k-1 section.
The top players in the 2-3 grade section were Rex Watson in first and Jackson Torres-O’Callaghan in second.
The largest section was for grades 4-5. First place went to Omar Silva with a perfect score. Jacob Santos was close behind with only one loss. Travis Torres-O’Callaghan, Chloe Ma, and Armando Silva all scored 3/5 and thus had a three way tie for third place. Again, River Islands Technology Academy placed first as a team.
In the final section, grades 6-8, Berkeley Torres-O’Callaghan won first place. Berkely’s sister, Savannah Torres-O’Callaghan tied for second place with Caleb Dunn. Mossdale Elementary School, powered exclusively by the Torres-Ocallaghan family, placed first in this section.
After such a successful start, the Torres Chess and Music Academy is already planning four more scholastic chess tournaments to be held in Lathrop during 2014-2015 school year. If your child or school is interested in participating, please contact Chris Torres by visiting www.ChessAndMusic.com.