CAPOCYAN SIBLINGS LIFT PH'S; 2018 TEXAS STATE SCHOLASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS RULER
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 14 Mar 2018
MANILA, Philippines---The Capocyan siblings, Sam Lander and John Patrick scored contrasting victories to capture the overall championship of the just concluded 2018 Texas State Scholastic Championships (North/Central) was held at the Marriot Westchase Hotel in Houston, Texas last March 9 to 11, 2018.
This event is sponsored by Dallas Chess Club and sanctioned by the Texas Chess Association (TCA) and United States Chess Federation (USCF).
This is a yearly scholastic event being participated by Texas students from Kinder to 12th Grade. Categories are Primary (kinder to 3rd grade), Elementary (4th to 6th grade), Middle School (6th to 8th grade) and High School (9th to 12th grade) sections. The tournament is 7 rounds Swiss, G60 with 5 seconds delay for the elementary, and G75 with 5 seconds delay for high school.
The elder Sam Lander C. Capocyan, took 1st place in the high school championship section.
The 17 years old Sam Lander enrolled in Kempner High School, Sugar Land, Texas as a senior student actually tied for 1st with 6.5 out of 7, but he got a better tiebreak, hence getting the championship title.
The youngest John Patrick C. Capocyan took solo 1st place in the elementary championship section with 6.5 points of 7.
The 10 years old John Patrick is in 5th grade at Cornerstone Elementary in Sugar Land, Texas.
"I am actually speechless to have 2 Texas scholastic chess champions in my household. Very lucky I should say," said the proud father Dr. Owen Capocyan of OakBend Medical Group in Sugar Land, Texas.
The Capocyan siblings, Sam Lander and John Patrick, both students of US based Filipino Grandmaster Julio Catalino Sadorra and Cagayan de Oro City National Master Rustum Tolentino.
"By no means, they are not chess prodigies. They are just ordinary kids with maybe slightly above average intelligence. They just happened to love the game of chess. I just supported them and provided coaching/lessons. They have been coached by NM Rustum Tolentino of Cagayan de Oro City via Skype and ever since they reached the level of class A players, they began lessons/coaching with GM Julio Sadorra who is currently residing in Dallas, Texas. They are both basically students of GM Sadorra currently. Sam Lander, the eldest was born in the Philippines while my youngest, John Patrick was born here in the US," added Dr. Owen Capocyan, is a Board Certified Family Practice Physician with fellowship training in Geriatrics and additional experience in Hospice and Palliative Care.
Sam Lander will attend University of Texas at Austin this fall. He will be taking Biomedical Engineering major. He will also be a member of the UT Austin Chess Varsity Team. He has achieved National Master title from the United States Chess Federation (USCF).
Sam Lander started playing when he was in 2nd grade. He was taught by his GT (gifted and talented) teacher to play chess as part of the logic thinking curriculum.
"After I saw that he is interested in chess, I just let him do online chess and started bringing him to scholastic tournaments both in state and nationals. He has won numerous titles. He has won multiple scholastic state titles since he was a 3rd grader.
He is the US Open Junior Champion U15 in 2015. He has been consistently in the top 10 in the Nationals Scholastic events. Although he has never been a national scholastic champion, he has finished 2nd on 3 separate occasions, during his 9th grade, 10th grade and 11th grade levels. This latest state title is his 1st Texas High School Scholastic Championship title. I am just glad he got one before going to college this fall," recalled proud father Dr. Owen Capocyan who hails from Gamay, Northern Samar.
John Patrick started to learn the rudiments of the game of chess in Kindergarten.
"I guess, he learned it by 'osmosis' as he is always with us when we travel to multiple tournaments for his older brother. He seems to be following the footsteps of his elder brother. He qualified to play for the United States Youth Chess team for the World Youth Chess Championships (U8) in 2015 held in Halkidiki, Greece. He was the Texas Primary (K-3) Scholastic Chess Champion in 2016. His latest win is this one, being the 2018 Texas State Elementary (K-6) Champ." said Dr. Owen Capocyan.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
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