WHSCA Northwest League
2005-2006

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Lynden High School, New Champions!

Congratulations to Lynden High School, the new champions of the NWL! Clearly coming down to a two-horse race for the title with Sehome, Lynden kept their lead with consistent play and thus brings home the rotating trophy. Sehome also clearly trumped the rest of the field, but couldn't overcome the slim lead that Lynden maintained since the 2nd round.

The battle for the 3rd place trophy was a close three-way struggle between Bellingham, Sedro-Woolley and Ferndale. Ferndale opened up a nice lead in the 5th round with a strong victory over Bellingham, but Sedro-Woolley came within one win of catching them by trouncing Ferndale 4.0-1.0 in the final round, overtaking Bellingham in the process.

The above teams, along with Lynden Christian and Burlington-Edison, are now qualified to represent the NWL at the "big dance", the season-ending State Team Championships, being held this year at Issaquah High School on February 24-25.

NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL CHESS LEAGUE 
FINAL STANDINGS 2005-2006 SEASON:
36.5  Lynden
34.5  Sehome
26.0  Ferndale
24.5  Sedro-Woolley
23.5  Bellingham
21.0  Lynden Christian
17.0  Bellingham B
14.0  Ferndale B
13.5  Burlington-Edison
 9.5  Anacortes
 1.0  Lummi
 0.0  Mount Baker

Round Seven Results:
White                Black
0.0 Bellingham B     vs  5.0 Lynden
1.0 Lynden Christian vs  4.0 Sehome
4.0 Sedro-Woolley    vs  1.0 Burlington-Edison
0.0 Anacortes        vs  3.0 Ferndale B
5.0 Ferndale A       vs  0.0 Lummi
0.0 Mount Baker      vs  5.0 Bellingham A

Round Eight Results:
4.0 Sedro-Woolley     vs 1.0 Ferndale A
0.0 Burlington-Edison vs 5.0 Bellingham A
5.0 Lynden            vs 0.0 Ferndale B
0.0 Mount Baker       vs 5.0 Bellingham B
5.0 Lynden Christian  vs 0.0 Lummi
0.0 Anacortes         vs 5.0 Sehome


NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL CHESS LEAGUE
LYNDEN LEADS BY ONE
FINAL MEET NEXT MONDAY

The third NWL Meet was held last night, and Lynden has a small but steady lead 
on Sehome after six rounds.  With only two rounds left, and with both leading 
teams having played the toughest teams already, prognosticators worldwide 
are saying "We like Lynden's chances" to take the NWL crown, assuming 
Super Bowl hangover influenza does not affect the football fans on the 
Lions' chess team at the final meet next Monday.

NWL 2005-2006 STANDINGS AFTER ROUND SIX:
26.5  Lynden
25.5  Sehome
20.0  Ferndale
16.5  Sedro-Woolley
15.0  Lynden Christian
13.5  Bellingham
12.5  Burlington-Edison
12.0  Bellingham B
11.0  Ferndale B
 9.5  Anacortes
 1.0  Lummi
 0.0  Mount Baker

Round Five Results:
0.0 Sedro-Woolley     vs  5.0 Lynden
0.0 Bellingham A      vs  5.0 Sehome
5.0 Ferndale A        vs  0.0 Anacortes
0.0 Bellingham B      vs  5.0 Lynden Christian
4.5 Burlington-Edison vs  0.5 Lummi
2.0 Ferndale B        vs  0.0 Mount Baker

Round Six Results:
5.0 Lynden       vs  0.0 Lynden Christian
5.0 Sehome       vs  0.0 Burlington-Edison
1.0 Bellingham A vs  4.0 Ferndale A
0.0 Lummi        vs  5.0 Sedro-Woolley
1.0 Ferndale B   vs  2.0 Bellingham B
0.0 Anacortes    vs  0.0 Mount Baker



NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL CHESS LEAGUE 2005-2006
STANDINGS AFTER ROUND FOUR:
16.5  Lynden
15.5  Sehome
12.5  Bellingham
11.5  Sedro-Woolley
11.0  Ferndale
10.0  Lynden Christian
10.0  Bellingham B
 9.5  Anacortes
 8.0  Burlington-Edison
 8.0  Ferndale B
 0.5  Lummi
 0.0  Mount Baker 

Round Three Results:
1.0 Ferndale A       vs  4.0 Lynden
0.0 Sedro-Woolley    vs  5.0 Sehome
0.0 Ferndale B       vs  5.0 Bellingham A
3.0 Anacortes        vs  2.0 Bellingham B
4.0 Lynden Christian vs  1.0 Burlington-Edison
0.0 Mount Baker      vs  0.0 Lummi

Round Four Results:
4.0 Lynden            vs  1.0 Bellingham A
4.0 Sehome            vs  1.0 Ferndale A
2.0 Bellingham B      vs  3.0 Sedro-Woolley
3.0 Lynden Christian  vs  2.0 Anacortes
5.0 Burlington-Edison vs  0.0 Mount Baker
0.0 Lummi             vs  5.0 Ferndale B

Pairings for Round Five:
White                 Black
Sedro-Woolley     vs  Lynden
Bellingham A      vs  Sehome
Ferndale A        vs  Anacortes
Bellingham B      vs  Lynden Christian
Burlington-Edison vs  Lummi
Ferndale B        vs  Mount Baker


Northwest Chess League
Dec. 12, 2005 Chess Meet

Round One Results:
White             Black
0.0 Ferndale B    vs  5.0 Sehome
5.0 Ferndale      vs  0.0 Mount Baker
0.0 Anacortes     vs  5.0 Bellingham A
5.0 Lynden        vs  0.0 Burlington-Edison
0.0 Lummi         vs  5.0 Bellingham B
5.0 Sedro-Woolley vs  0.0 Lynden Christian

Round Two Results:
1.5 Sehome            vs  3.5 Lynden
1.0 Bellingham B      vs  4.0 Ferndale A
1.5 Bellingham A      vs  3.5 Sedro-Woolley
2.0 Burlington-Edison vs  3.0 Ferndale B
0.5 Lummi             vs  4.5 Anacortes
0.0 Mount Baker       vs  3.0 Lynden Christian

Northwest Chess League Standings after Round 2:
9.0  Ferndale
8.5  Lynden
8.5  Sedro-Woolley
6.5  Sehome
6.5  Bellingham
6.0  Bellingham B
4.5  Anacortes
3.0  Lynden Christian
3.0  Ferndale B
2.0  Burlington-Edison
0.5  Lummi
0.0  Mount Baker

PAIRINGS FOR ROUND 3  (Jan. 9 at Sedro-Woolley)
White               Black
Ferndale A       vs Lynden
Sedro-Woolley    vs Sehome
Ferndale B       vs Bellingham A
Anacortes        vs Bellingham B
Lynden Christian vs Burlington-Edison
Mount Baker      vs Lummi 

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NW Chess League Schedule 2005-2006

Dec. 12: MEET #1 Northwest H.S. Chess League -- Bellingham H.S.
Jan. 9: - MEET #2 Northwest H.S. Chess League -- Sedro-Woolley H.S.
Jan. 30: MEET #3 Northwest H.S. Chess League -- Ferndale H.S.
Feb. 6: - MEET #4 Northwest H.S. Chess League -- Lynden H.S.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . League games start at 6:20pm

Feb. 24-25: State Team Championships, Issaquah H.S.

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04-05 NW League Results 12 Teams, Sehome H.S. Champs
03-04 NW League Results 10 Teams, Sehome H.S. Champs
02-03 NW League Results 10 Teams, Sehome H.S. Champs
01-02 NW League Results 12 Teams, Ferndale H.S. Champs
00-01 NW League Results 10 Teams, Ferndale H.S. Champs
99-00 NW League Results 12 Teams, Lynden H.S. Champs
98-99 NW League Results 10 Teams, Ferndale H.S. Champs

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LAST SEASON -- SEHOME REIGNS
Sehome had some close calls in the 04-05 NWL, but walked away unscathed, losing a few games but not losing a single match to clearly capture the NWL title. Bellingham and Ferndale dueled for second up through the final meet, with Ferndale pulling out the 2nd place trophy by a thin half-point after the dust cleared. Lynden locked up 4th place, and Bellingham proved their depth with their B-team placing 5th. Nooksack Valley learned quick in their inaugural season, not only placing 6th but earning a berth to State in the process.

WHSCA NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL CHESS LEAGUE
2004 - 2005 SEASON FINAL STANDINGS 
 
34.5 Sehome          
30.0 Ferndale        
29.5 Bellingham      
24.5 Lynden          
22.5 Bellingham B    
19.5 Nooksack Valley 
19.0 Sedro-Woolley   
15.0 Meridian 
15.0 Ferndale B 
13.5 Mount Vernon Christian
 4.0 Mount Baker  

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NW League H.S. Chess Club Advisors / Helpers

Contact these people if you want to join/assist/start a chess club at your high school:
Bellingham: Ross Gerard
Blaine: Don Sayegh
Burlington: Stacy Murdock
Ferndale: Don Pringle
LaConner: Jacques Brunisholz
Lummi: James Sandusky
Lynden: Dave VanWeerdhuizen
Lynden Christian: Jeanne Peterson
Meridian: David Shick
Mount Baker: John Wiseman
Mount Vernon: Paul Everyhope
Mount Vernon Christian: Patrick De Jong
Nooksack Valley: Matt Galley
Squalicum: Jeffrey Marks
Sedro-Woolley: Randy Walther
Sehome: Barb June
NW League Director: Randy Kaech

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Northwest League Rules - Summary
A useful one-page synopsis of the rules.

Northwest League Rules - Official
The full version of the rules, a bit verbose to cover all contingencies.

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Some facts about high school chess in Washington

For several decades now the Washington High School Chess Association (WHSCA) has organized most major scholastic chess events for the state, including the Washington State High School Team Chess Championships. They have also provided structure and oversight to the many interscholastic chess leagues in Washington.

Eight years ago the Northwest League became the newest WHSCA league, providing league chess competition for high schools in Whatcom and Skagit counties.

The Northwest League became the seventh WHSCA league. These leagues average ten teams per league, ranging from the large Seattle Metro League (16 high school teams) to the new So. Central Wa. League (4 high schools). A team must place in the upper half of its league in order to qualify for State.

This year's Washington State High School Team Championships will be held on February 24-25, 2006 at Issaquah High School in Yakima.