The 2007 U.S. Junior Chess Congress was held in Anderson, Indiana for the second straight year over the weekend of February 10-11.  Over 200 participants dodged the snowstorms and crowded East Side Middle School for the six round event.
 
Winning the 18 & under section was Travis Blazer from Anderson Highland High School.  Travis won the section by edging out top-seeded Boris Xu on tiebreaks.  Lafayette Jefferson High School pulled away late to take the team crown. 
 
The 16 & under competitors were combined with the 18 & under and dominated the weekend.  Evan Hanley finished first on tiebreaks with five wins.  The next three finishers all represented Canterbury School, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who were never challenged for the team prize.
 
The 14 & under section featured the first perfect score as top-seeded Akash  Umakantha won the section a whole point ahead of second.  The Knightmare Chess Club from Columbus, Ohio won the team prize, followed by the host, East Side Middle School, in second.
 
Five players ended in a remarkable tie for first place in the 12 & under section.  Even the tiebreaks were close, but in the end Alex Wasdahl had just enough to win the section with five wins.  The Knightmare Chess Club continued their domination in this section, winning the team prize.
 
Sean Vibbert was nearly perfect in the 10 & under section, clearing the rest of the field by a half point with his 5.5 score.  The team competition was close, but the Kentucky Knights chess club finished with 12.5 points, just enough to edge out the Evansville Chess Club with 12 points.
 
The 8 & under group also finished with an amazing five-way tie for first place at five wins each.  Again it came down to close tie breaks and Vishan Ramanathan took home first place.  The Kentucky Knights held on in this section as well to claim top team honors.
 
Congratulations to all of the participants for an outstanding event and a fun weekend for all of the players.  Complete results can be found at http://www.2007ChessCongress.com. 
 
Site organizers were Scott Reisinger and Nick Zehner.  A special thanks goes out to all of the volunteers who made this event a success.  The chief tournament director was Scott Reisinger.