Eight members of the Whittier Starry Knights chess team participated in the 2015 Chicago Area K-12 Chess Championship, which drew more than 325 players from the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana. Sebastian Aguliar-Ripley, Camari Bolger, Jalen Fitzpatrick, Eric Kornowske and Micah Liebman competed against 13 teams and 97 students in the K-6 Junior Varsity Division, while Eli Greenfield, William Hepburn and Christian McClinton-Waters competed against 14 schools and 68 students in the K-3 Junior Varsity Division.
In the K-6 division, the Whittier team captured fifth place overall, led by Fitzpatrick who finished in ninth place with a 4-1 record and earned a medal. In the K-3 division, the team took third place overall, and Greenfield won a trophy for being the division’s top unrated player.
Next up for the Whittier Starry Knights is the annual District 97 Chess Tournament, which will be held in March.