Lincoln Middle and Buchholz High Schools win state chess championships

Photos courtesy of team parents

Staff report

ORLANDO, Fla. – Lincoln Middle School and Buchholz High School recently won state chess championships. This was Lincoln’s third K-8 state chess championship in a row, and Buchholz High School won its fifth K-12 state chess championship in the past seven years.

The 2024 State Scholastic Championship, organized and run by the Florida Chess Association, was held in Orlando on March 9-10. Over 500 K-12 students competed in nine sections that divided players by grade and skill level.

In addition to the team championships, individual student results are listed below.

Lincoln (K-8):

  • Nate Ziegler – 11th place
  • Brian Bird – 15th place
  • Coco Yao – 32nd place
  • Garrick Wu – 43rd place

Buchholz (K-12):

  • Bach Ngo – 3rd place
  • Abhiram Pothuri – 9th place
  • Jolie Huang – 10th place
  • Jerry Yao – 14th place
  • Andrew Xing – 22nd place
  • Oak Hall, also from Gainesville, swept every section in K-1, K-3 and K-5.

  • Encourage more children to participate in chess. Namely the young youths who are prone to participation in gang activity.

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