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Chessville
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3-25-04
Sam, I Am Remember Sam, Chessville's adopted Prodigy In the Making - Sam Schmakel? We at Chessville continue to follow Sam's chess career, with the assistance of Chess In Chicago's Lamarr Wilson. Here's the latest news about this great kid, and great young chessplayer, as reported by Milan Mitrovic, head of Chicago Chess Kids, and Sam's Mom: Milan Mitrovic: Hockey has its "hat trick" and horse racing has its "Triple Crown". Golf calls it "The Grand Slam". Scholastic chess does not yet have a name for it, but if it did Sam Schmakel could certainly claim title to it.
Last weekend Sam won the Primary (2-3) at the Illinois State Championships. Two weeks earlier he captured the City Championships K-2 in Chicago and prior to that he won the National K-12 Championship in the 2nd Grade Division. Not only did he win each event outright (no tie breaks) but at each event he won it with a perfect score - no loses, no draws. [Editor's note: anyone remember Fischer's 20-0 streak while working his way towards his historical match with Boris Spassky?] Sam, who is currently ranked 2nd in the nation by the USCF (7 and under), plays for his school - Decatur Classical - and the Chicago Chess Kids. He is under the tutelage of Grandmaster Dmitri Gurevich. GM Gurevich considers Sam a quick learner with a good work ethic and a sense of humor. Sam is one of the hardest working students of the game. He studies on his own, without being told and he loves every minute of it. Since Scholastic Chess doesn't have a name for winning three prestigious titles, allow me to submit "The Triple Slam Trick" for your consideration. Way to go, Sam!
Sam's Mom: My son Sam Schmakel and I attended the Illinois State Scholastic Chess Championship this past weekend at Maine West High School in Park Ridge. The tournament was well run and the organizers did a great job. Sam won all seven of his games and earned 1st place in the Primary (grades 2-3) division. The caliber of play was high and all of his opponents gave him a good game. Sam was lucky and also played some serious, steady chess. In this last year Sam has won the City Championship, State, and also Nationals (for 2nd grade). We consider ourselves very lucky and grateful. Sam’s secret weapon is Grandmaster Dmitry Gurevich. Dmitry has been teaching, mentoring, training, cajoling and helping Sam to play the best chess possible. His love of the game is lifelong and infectious. Dmitry only teaches a few students but three of them were on board one, for their divisions, and won State Championships. Johnny Vela, (K-1) State Champion, Sam Schmakel (2-3) State Champion, and Josh Dubin (4-5) State Champion are all students of Grandmaster Dmitry Gurevich. Congratulations to Dmitry and all of his students, they did a wonderful job. I would also like to thank the fellow chess players and their parents. We have seen some familiar faces over this past year and all of our friends and other tournament players have been more than kind in their help, support and good will. I think this generous spirit is unique to chess. Win, lose, or draw, we have made lifelong friends, traveled to new cities, enjoyed new experiences and have been happy to be part of this wonderful chess community. Sincerely, Eileen M. Schmakel (forever known as Sam’s mom)
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