By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
THE award-winning Pakenham Secondary College Chess team has come one step closer to a national chess championship.
The junior team joined 29 other champion schools to compete in the state finals on Tuesday 27 October.
They achieved the impressive ranking of sixth, and will join schools including Glen Waverley, St Leonard’s, Mazenod, Huntingtower, Mentone Grammar and Candlebark to form the Victorian Team at the upcoming National Chess Finals.
Chess team co-ordinators Christian Ampongan and Sergio de Lima said Tuesday’s results capped off a stellar year for the students.
“This year was the best for the Pakenham Secondary College chess team, producing numerous championship trophies for both middle years and open secondary in regional tournaments,” they said.
“Each member of the team dedicated at least 220 hours of training time this season to prepare for the tournaments.”
They said the best player was Min Hong Yang, who teamed with Tibesso Abduro Witago, Ketu Dedeffo, Hayden King, Cameron Higgins, Fabian Bonaudi, Armann Gill, Hanoor Gill, Damien Kho, and Victoria Hendrick. Ryan Kloppenberg was the team’s manager.
The National Chess Finals will be held from 30 November to 1 December at Queen’s College, Melbourne.
