Solon Ohio Chess Powerhouse

Solon Ohio
Complete Story by Kyla Price Sun News-cleveland solon_students_earn_titles

From elementary to high school, numerous Solon students brought home trophies from the Ohio State Grade Level Chess Championships.

Students in grades 11-12 who earned trophies included, from left, Tony Zhang, Joey Simone, Joel Jaffe, Lawrence Liu, Reid Fu, Shara Subramanian, Coach Tony Dunlap, Tony Xiang and Daniel Guo.
Photo-Tamara Strom of Solon Schools

Grade 9 Champions

The ninth-grade state champions are, from left, Joel Jaffe, Alan Stepanski,

John Xiang, Lawrence Liu, Daniel Guo and Antony Styrt.

Photo-Tamara Strom of Solon Schools

Coach Tony Dunlap leads chess groups at all grade levels in Solon and said no other school district won more team trophies, individual trophies or team championships than Solon.

The high school’s freshman division team took strategy to the highest level possible, winning the title of Ninth Grade State Champions.

Even some of the youngest students in the district participated in the tournament. Roxbury Elementary School walked away with the title of First Grade State Champions. Students on the championship team include Alicia Harper and Puran Manikantah.

A team of five Orchard Middle School students was crowned Sixth Grade State Champions: Alexander Barto, Zachary Barto, Alan Liu, Malcolm Golias and Roger Poduska. Individually, Liu finished in second place.

Solon Middle School’s team finished third in the eighth-grade division. Students on the eighth-grade team include Ian Golias, Joey Simone and Colin Rizer.

Dunlap explained that Solon students often do well at chess tournaments because of their early involvement with the game. While garnering championship titles is exciting, he said that chess results in the larger benefits of building youths’ confidence and enhancing their concentration and analytical skills.