Four Ottawa Hills Elementary School students made chess history as the youngest team to take home the gold in the 2017 Beach Tournament at Rossford High School.

Fifth graders Michael Lin and Saumya Talla, and third graders Rohan Padhye and Finn Genzman took first place last month as a team — the first time in the tournament’s 50-year history that an elementary team saw such success.

Michael, 11, is also the youngest competitor to win the Toledo-area tournament overall. He won all six rounds to clinch the first place title, breaking the record for youngest champion last set by an eighth-grader in 2012.

“I love competition,” Michael said.

Ryan Clayton, the students’ coach, said the Ottawa Hills group broke out in excited laughter at the high school when Michael was announced as the youngest champion. He said upperclassmen are used to winning the two-day tournament — he won it twice himself before graduating from Central Catholic High School in 2010 — but it wasn’t long before the high school students started getting nervous.

“About halfway through they realized those elementary kids were the ones they should be afraid of,” Mr. Clayton said.

He began coaching Michael as a second grader and Rohan as a kindergarten student. He knew right away the two kids had a knack for chess.

“They both just showed a very high aptitude for the game and took off from there,” Mr. Clayton said.

Rohan, 9, took second place at the Beach Tournament. His only loss was to Michael. The friends credit their fathers, Ajay Padhye and Shengyin Lin, for introducing them to the game.

Saumya, 11, won the upset award for beating a player with a higher chess rating, and Finn, 9, took first place in Class E. Both have been playing chess since they were in first grade.

“Just because they’re older doesn’t make them better,” Rohan said of his Beach Tournament competitors. “In chess, it’s not your age, it’s how much you practice and how you play the game.”

The four teammates practice often, either with physical chess boards or use of online strategy games. 

They have a friendly competitive nature among themselves, pushing each other to take risks and do better with each match.

For Finn, the key to success is all about understanding each chess piece and honing a strategy.

“I like the different abilities for the pieces,” he said. “In other sports, everybody has different strengths, and I like that.”

All four were nervous ahead of the two-day chess tournament, but they also welcomed a challenge. Saumya said she was confident the team would be successful because they practice every day, and they can still have fun under pressure.

“You compete against each other, you use your brain,” Saumya said. “And I like getting trophies and awards.”

Ottawa Hills Superintendent Kevin Miller said he likes the chess program because it builds critical thinking skills, and he was thrilled when he received word of the team’s success.

“We’re incredibly proud of them, to do that well competing against high school students,” he said. “It’s just as impressive as any athletic endeavor. This is like an elementary student being able to beat a high school student in the two-mile run or the pole vault.”

Contact Sarah Elms at: selms@theblade.com or 419-724-6103 or on Twitter @BySarahElms.

First Published February 6, 2017, 5:00 a.m.