Looking over the recent batch of “Top x” lists from the USCF (Feb 2005) yields the following interesting tidbits:

1. Raymond Hayes is tied for #52 on the “Seniors” list.
2. Daniel Kane is #96 on the “Age 18” list.
3. Erik Santarius is #17 on the “Age 17” list.
4. Joseph Richards is #44 on the “Age 17” list.
5. Siarhei Biareishyk is #56 on the “Age 17” list.
6. Wesley Jervingis tied for #99 on the “Age 17” list.
7. Derek Paitrick is #64 on the “Age 16” list.
8. Jeremy Kane is #39 on the “Age 15” list.
9. Brian Luo is #1 on the “Age 7 and under” list (by 180 rating points).

Notably missing: any names from girls or women. Why? We had one promising girl, but she’s moved on, mainly because her school (Homestead High you should be ashamed of yourself) gave her no support. There should be more. Where are the females?

At least five of the names are directly traceable to the same coach in Madison, Alex Betaneli. One cannot help but wonder, though: How many other names would be found on this list if only there were some support for chess coaching in other school systems? And how many names outside of Madison that are there would be higher? The questions need to be asked of your own local schools. To paraphrase an old advertising campaign: Chess builds strong minds twelve ways. This has been proven over and over again in the literature. How long can we afford to have our schools ignore this?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 1st, 2005 at 8:45 am and is filed under Chess News, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.