Under Tamburro's watchful eye, a three-peat

I was pretentious, I was pompous, but most importantly, I was right. The Frisch chess team three-peated this past Wednesday just as I had predicted they would several weeks ago.

The Cougars traveled to New York City to face Ramaz for the championship. Of the seven matchups, Frisch won six, lost one, and took home the gold; their third in three years. However, the score was not indicative of the match. Each Frisch win was hard-fought, as Ramaz was driven with the memory of last year during which it lost to Frisch in the finals.

Regarding the semi-finals and championship, Frisch coach Peter Tamburro said, “Even though our scores were lop-sided, both matches were very much in doubt in the early stages. In both matches, [I] stood there with coach-anxiety.”

Since beginning their remarkable streak, Frisch players have gone 100-14-5 (wins-losses-ties) and have won all 17 regular season matches.

The future, however, is all but certain. “The championship is bittersweet, too,” remarked Tamburro. “I will miss the seniors.”

Frisch was fortunate to have an incredible class of senior chess players this past season, including New Jersey’s top player, Josh Block. “It’s a great credit to the graduating seniors – Josh Block, Donny Kanner, Dana Neugut, and Byron Edwards – who formed the core of the team.

“Now it’s the job of the underclassmen to rebuild to see how well they can do, just as the seniors did when they were freshmen and sophomores,” Tamburro said. “We have some top flight performers coming back in Meir Genut, Zach Neugut, and Eitan Neugut.”

Am I cocky enough to make a prediction before next season even begins? Heck, why not. Four-peat, baby.

Under Tamburro’s watchful eye, a three-peat

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