Berkeley Bishops Battle it Out in San Jose!
The Berkeley Chess School team the "Berkeley Bishops" played their first match of the season against a team from the Torres Chess and Music Academy on Sunday December 11, in the beautiful Jung Suwon facility in San Jose. Thirteen Bishops battled it out for 3 hours against their opponents. The Bishops prevailed but have been challenged to a comeback match in Berkeley in the new year.
Meantime the "Bishops" look forward to their next match against St. Mark's School in San Raphael in February 2006 while the Torres students play Mission San Jose. Torres is also hosting the Sojourner Truth tournament for Girls on January 8. I urge all our girls to attend.
The Berkeley Bishops team played their first match on November 10, 1984 in Berkeley against the Orange County "Wizards". Over the years they had many memorable matches both in Berkeley and Los Angeles. The students on that first team eventually formed the Berkeley High School team that won the State Championship for three of their four high school years the other winner being College Prep. whose number one board was also a "Bishop".
In the early nineties the Bishops played against a combination team of Weibel and Mission San Jose and in the years following, the annual Weibel v Bishops match became a staple for preparing students for the State Championships.
In the year 2000 the Bishops traveled to Straffan, Ireland for a match against the All Ireland under 14 Champions and the Irish team played the return match in Berkeley in 2001.
The Bishops proudly boast alumni David Pruess and Andy Lee, both masters by High School and currently founders of the East Bay Chess Club, Jon Ludwig Hammer, Junior Champion of Norway, Daichi Siegrist, Junior Champion of Japan, Monty Peckham, High School State Champion, Alexander Setzephandt member of the Pressman All American Team for three consecutive years and many others too numerous to mention. The philosophy of the Berkeley Chess School, to share the joy of chess with as many young people as possible is embodied in its Berkeley Bishops Team where emphasis is on the act of competing in a pleasant and civilized environment rather than on the results.
