The Dalles High School chess player Jacob Holloran, left, has his opponent in a tight spot at the state individual chess championships, March 13-14, in Portland. In background on right is The Dalles student Chase Snodgrass. Holloran and Snodgras, both sophomores, tied for fifth at the competition. Contributed photo
The Dalles High School chess player Jacob Holloran, left, has his opponent in a tight spot at the state individual chess championships, March 13-14, in Portland. In background on right is The Dalles student Chase Snodgrass. Holloran and Snodgras, both sophomores, tied for fifth at the competition. Contributed photo
The Dalles High School sophomores Chase Snodgrass and Jacob Holloran each won two of five matches at the state Chess for Success tournament in Portland earlier this month, putting them in a tie for fifth place.
The competition was held March 13-14 at the Convention Center in Portland.
Noah Holloran, Spencer Glenn, Nick Caracciolo and Ayden Orion represented The Dalles Middle School at the event.
Their team defeated Medford and Ontario to earn two points in the state competition, earning a fifth place finish.
Holloran, Glenn and Caracciolo also competed in the individual contest on Saturday.
Glenn, an eighth grader, and Caracciolo, a sixth grader, each had a single victory on Saturday, finishing outside the top trophy qualifiers.
Holloran had “a fantastic weekend,” said chess coach Michael Holloran. He won three of his five matches during the team competition on Friday.
He returned on Saturday during the seventh grade individual competition “and competed very tough. He drew his first two matches, one against an opponent with a 1475 ranking, then won two of his final three matches, giving him a total of 3 points for an overall fourth place finish.
“I was very proud of all of our students, but I was especially proud of Noah, he showed tremendous mental toughness and had excellent sportsmanship. Noah had the upper hand in his second match against a very difficult opponent and when his opponent asked for a draw Noah accepted.
“Noah’s ability to realize that it was just a game and to put the other student’s feelings ahead of his own allowed his opponent to ultimately end up taking home a third place trophy. There were a lot of adults and coaches there this weekend who could stand to learn something about competition from Noah Holloran, including me.”
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