Twelve participants from the Bradford Knight Owls Chess program attended the 2023 Pennsylvania State Chess Championships. The event was held at the Red Lion Inn Harrisburg-Hershey at 4751 Lindle Road in Harrisburg, PA.  

Nearly 700 players participated in the combined State Chess Championships on Friday through Sunday, March 17-19. Participants in the photo below from left to right are: 

First row = Coach Bob Ferguson, Sylvia Bysiek, Juliana Bysiek, Aiden Ferguson, Elaina Ferguson, Micaiah Ferguson  

Second Row = Brian Ferry, Rob Ferguson, Trenton Johnson, Natasha Ferry 

(Missing from the photo are Silence Karl, Ed Bysiek, and Ryan Ferguson) 

Photo credit: Brian Ferry 

On Saturday, Sylvia and Juliana Bysiek (both 3^rd graders) won the first-place team trophy in the U800 section of the Elementary PA State Championships. Micaiah Ferguson, 5^th grader, finished tied for third in the Elementary PA State Championships U500 section. On Sunday, the Bysieks and Fergusons competed in the U1100 section to again capture first place. In the two-day sections, Natasha Ferry (11^th grader) captured the 1^st Place Girl in the Unrated High School Section of the event; Trenton Johnson (9^th grader) tied for 17^th in the high school section; and Silence Karl, who played in the under 1300 high school section, placed 20^th.   

The photo below includes the first-place team in the 2023 U1100 States event. From left to right, they are Aiden Ferguson, Micaiah “Ki” Ferguson, Sylvia Bysiek, and Julianna Bysiek.  

Photo credit: Ed Bysiek 

The 2023 Championship was sponsored by the Pennsylvania State Chess Federation and organized by Tom Martinak. Coach Bob Ferguson said, “I’m very proud of all the kids, but I wish more of our top students could have attended. Being blessed with musical talents, several top chess students were needed for the ‘Damn Yankees musical.’”  

Next the students are planning to play in the annual Western NY and Northern PA Scholastic Championship in Friendship, NY on April 15.