Caldwell Students Win Big at Regional Chess Tournament

Chess players from Grover Cleveland Middle School in Caldwell, took home 11 trophies when they competed against 34 teams of middle school students in Essex County’s Team Chess Tournament.

The competition included students from Essex County gifted programs in Caldwell-West Caldwell, North Caldwell, Livingston, and Bloomfield.

The Caldwell school placed first in both the Advanced and Novice level competitions, and took home eleven trophies, including, at the Advanced level, first place for eighth graders Liam Corliss and Natasha LaChac, third place for eighth graders Matthew West and Spence Solomon, and sixth place for seventh graders Ethan Schlegel and Connor Padover.

At the Novice level, eighth graders Jessica Rizzo and Charlee Alberta placed first, seventh grader Nicholas Ricci placed second and seventh graders Anthony Scrittorale and Matthew Britton placed third.

The event, which was held on Oct. 29 at Harrison School Essex Fells Elementary School, was sponsored by the Essex County Steering Committee for Gifted Education.