2020 School Chess Championships: Philipp Dubinker (5b) won his age group

A tense calm hangs in the air during the final round of the Marburg Student Chess Championship. You can’t even hear the clocks ticking—electronics have made their way here, too. Full concentration on opponents and the board. A large group of students comes through the door and quietly gathers around the first table of the 5th/6th-grade group to watch their top players compete on the top boards. And they aren’t disappointed—the game is thrilling and ultimately ends with their classmate’s victory and his title win in this group. Applause!

The School Chess Individual Championship, organized by the Chess Club and Steinmühle, was well attended again this year. A total of 59 students from 13 schools in the Marburg district took part and competed in three categories (up to 4th grade, 5th and 6th grades, and 7th grade and above) to determine their champions. The event was sponsored by Sparkasse Marburg-Biedenkopf. City Councilwoman Kirsten Dinnebier served as the event’s patron and personally welcomed the participants.

Among the winners were some new faces and some familiar ones. The winner in the category for grades up to 4 was Mark Scherer from the Erich Kästner School, with 6 out of a possible 6 points. In the 5th and 6th grade category, Philipp Dubinker from the Steinmühle School took first place, also with 6 out of 6 points. Finally, in the “older” category, Jakob Wolf from the Elisabethschule won once again.

The organization, which is now well-established, ran smoothly. The next major chess event on the horizon is the schools’ team championship, which will take place this summer.

Text and photo: Helge Neidhardt, Schachklub Marburg e.V.

This is what winners look like: (from left) Jakob Wolf (Grades 7 and up, Elisabethschule), Mark Scherer (up to Grade 4, Erich-Kästner-Schule), Philipp Dubinker (Grades 5/6, Steinmühle, Class 5b)