Hillel school of Tampa Students Rank High in the 2004 Scholastic National Chess championships

 December 16, 2004

This year’s Scholastic National Chess Championships were held at the Dolphin hotel in Disney World this past weekend.  Over 525 teams from forty five states participated in the event, comprising of approximately 1650 students.  Teams ranged in size from one student to more than thirty students. Hillel School of Tampa was represented by seven students competing in three grade divisions: Glen Kussner, Philip Marcadis, Ari Feinstein, Brett Doliner, and Dawson Friedland in the sixth grade division; Simon Moskovitz in the fifth grade division; and Daniel Rovner in the fourth grade division.  

The tournament consisted of seven rounds of chess games that lasted Friday through Sunday.  In the last round Hillel students scored a half a point ahead of thirty-one other teams, achieving an amazing fifth place in the National Championship.  In addition to the fifth place trophy, Brett Doliner won individual honors with a second place trophy in the under one thousand rating division for the sixth grade.  Hillel’s team was only a point and a half shy of tying for first place!

Hillel School of Tampa is a Jewish Community Day School located on Fletcher Avenue in Tampa.  Serving the community since 1970, Hillel provides a superior education that encourages a love of learning and a strong Jewish

identity.  With only 203 students, Hillel is the proud owner of numerous awards and trophies in many areas such as science, sports, literary competitions, and chess.  Hillel offers many after school activities and clubs, one of which is chess.