Chess teams from Jose Marti MAST Academy and Mater Lakes Academy compete at Doral tournament

At the 64 Squares Foundation Tournament in Doral on Dec. 7, chess teams from Mater Lakes Academy and Jose Marti MAST 6-12 Academy competed to win or place in their divisions.
As part of the 2019-2020 Grand Prix Series, students from Jose Marti took first place in the K-12 division that day.
Pictured above, left to right are Jose Marti MAST 6-12 Academy Principal Jose Enriquez; Manuel Oliva; Brandon Medina; Richard Amaro; Jose Garcia; Dennis Duran and Leandro Valbuena.
The students from Mater Lakes Academy took third place in the K-8 division. They finished third out of five competing teams at the contest that was held at Divine Savior Academy. The Grand Prix Series consists of seven tournaments held during the school year and eventually an individual player and a team are crowned the winners. Coach Michael Saunders praised his team’s spirit. “They supported each other and didn’t break apart,” Saunders said. “I haven’t seen that type of chemistry in a long time.
Pictured below, left to right are Christopher Garcia; Bryan Portelles; Karen Gomez and chess coach Michael Saunders. Team member Brandon Hadfeg is not shown.
Photographs are courtesy of the schools.