Supervisor: Jonathan Bradley
I have been playing chess for almost 20 years but have never been coached or have played in a chess competition. I started the Scholars' Chess Club to find people to play and to simultaneously improve my game. I know many of the chess principles but have had little opportunity to discuss and analyze them with others. Through the chess club I would like to do two things; give any student who would like to learn and play chess a place to go, and to be able to produce top notch chess players.
Coach: Henry Scorcia
Respectable Stuff: Henry is a graduate of Brooklyn College (cum laude) and New York Law School, where he was an Articles Editor for the Law Review. He’s currently Co-President of the Scholars’ Academy Parent Association. He’s not sure why.
Why Chess?: Henry believes that all schools should have chess clubs because chess teaches people to increase their attention span, focus, solve problems and increase their curiosity – things that traditional schooling (and those awful standardized tests) do not teach.
Credentials: Henry began playing chess during the final days of the Eisenhower Presidency. He’s still not very good at it.
Fun Facts: Henry is married to a very patient woman named Marilyn. He likes The Frick Collection in New York City, Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and ducks in plum sauce. His biggest influences have been Groucho Marx, Oscar the Grouch and Margaret Hamilton.
Henry still does not know what he wants to be when he grows up.
(No trees were harmed during the creation of the above bio; but billions of electrons, photons, and electromagnetic waves were terribly inconvenienced during its transmission!)
Why Chess?: Henry believes that all schools should have chess clubs because chess teaches people to increase their attention span, focus, solve problems and increase their curiosity – things that traditional schooling (and those awful standardized tests) do not teach.
Credentials: Henry began playing chess during the final days of the Eisenhower Presidency. He’s still not very good at it.
Fun Facts: Henry is married to a very patient woman named Marilyn. He likes The Frick Collection in New York City, Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and ducks in plum sauce. His biggest influences have been Groucho Marx, Oscar the Grouch and Margaret Hamilton.
Henry still does not know what he wants to be when he grows up.
(No trees were harmed during the creation of the above bio; but billions of electrons, photons, and electromagnetic waves were terribly inconvenienced during its transmission!)
The Resident Expert: Scott Milczewski
I started playing chess around the age of 6. My father taught me chess as something we could do together; however, after a few short years I was already beating him. In middle school I really accelerated my playing and started to come to school early to play chess with other students my age; this is when I really began to hone specific strategies. In addition, in middle school I joined the chess club at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. Here I was really challenged by playing college age students; I lost pretty much every game. But, this was probably when I experienced the most growth in my play and ended up winning the top unrated award in one of their tournaments. Later in life I began playing on Thompson Street in Manhattan and supervised the chess club at Brooklyn Technical High School when I was a teacher there. I also began to more deeply study and read books on chess strategies and tactics. To this day I try to find time in my busy schedule for an occasional game. It's a great game and has so many connections to life. Play on!
THE FORMER President : Yvonne Scorcia
President of The Scholars' Academy Chess Club
A US Chess Federation Member since April 2012
As of April 1, 2014 Yvonne is ranked in the top 15.3% of Women Chess Players in the United States. Yvonne entered her 1st Scholastic Chess Tournament at age 11. Since that time, Yvonne has earned 6 trophies and 12 medals in scholastic tournament competitions. One of her most satisfying victories was winning 1st Place in the Under 500 Division at the Right Move Tournament in NYC in December 2012; 3 days after returning home from a 40 day Hurricane Sandy displacement. Yvonne recently placed 9th out of 82 in the Middle School Reserve Section at the 47th Annual New York State Scholastic Championships.
Academically, Yvonne has been Awarded the Principal's Honor Roll and was selected a Scholars' Academy Outstanding Scholar. Yvonne was offered admission to Mark Twain Intermediate School for the Gifted & Talented (accepted for Science Talent) but declined the offer to attend Scholars' Academy instead. In September 2014, she will be attending Brooklyn Technical High School.
Besides her accomplishments in chess and school, Yvonne loves to talk about herself in the third person. She also loves tennis and every summer takes tennis instruction with the New York Junior Tennis League. She has been a Girl Scout since September 2007. As a Cadette, Yvonne has earned the Leadership Award as well as the highest Cadette Girl Scout Award – the Silver Award.
A US Chess Federation Member since April 2012
As of April 1, 2014 Yvonne is ranked in the top 15.3% of Women Chess Players in the United States. Yvonne entered her 1st Scholastic Chess Tournament at age 11. Since that time, Yvonne has earned 6 trophies and 12 medals in scholastic tournament competitions. One of her most satisfying victories was winning 1st Place in the Under 500 Division at the Right Move Tournament in NYC in December 2012; 3 days after returning home from a 40 day Hurricane Sandy displacement. Yvonne recently placed 9th out of 82 in the Middle School Reserve Section at the 47th Annual New York State Scholastic Championships.
Academically, Yvonne has been Awarded the Principal's Honor Roll and was selected a Scholars' Academy Outstanding Scholar. Yvonne was offered admission to Mark Twain Intermediate School for the Gifted & Talented (accepted for Science Talent) but declined the offer to attend Scholars' Academy instead. In September 2014, she will be attending Brooklyn Technical High School.
Besides her accomplishments in chess and school, Yvonne loves to talk about herself in the third person. She also loves tennis and every summer takes tennis instruction with the New York Junior Tennis League. She has been a Girl Scout since September 2007. As a Cadette, Yvonne has earned the Leadership Award as well as the highest Cadette Girl Scout Award – the Silver Award.
THE FORMER Webmaster: Aaron Fernando
Hello! I am the creator, owner, administrator, and editor of this website. I am in the eighth grade, and will be updating this website for the rest of the 2013-2014 school year.
If you have any questions just use the Contact Us form.
I hope to see you at the chess club!
Visit my website at aaronfernando.weebly.com.
If you have any questions just use the Contact Us form.
I hope to see you at the chess club!
Visit my website at aaronfernando.weebly.com.