Corvallis chess players brought home many medals and trophies from the fourth annual Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation championship tournament held April 10-11 at Seaside.

"The Corvallis kids had a phenomenal showing," said chess coach Lisa Still. "Of the 21 scholastic players who were able to go to the tournament, 18 brought home a trophy or a medal." Twenty-four students actually qualified, but three could not attend.

Still said six of the students brought home a trophy.

"That means six of our players were either first or tied for first in their section," Still said. "Out of 12 sections, they took (or tied) for the championship title in four. It's amazing to me that kids from such a small region could be the very best players in a full one-third of the sections in the tournament, but these kids did just that."

The weekend event attracted more than 200 of the top-rated chess players from around the state.

Several new features were added to this year's contest, including a blitz chess tournament in which each player is given five minutes to checkmate their opponent and Bughouse, in which oddly named teams of two matched up with other teams and battled for wasp trophies.

Other activities included a Chess Puzzle Scavenger Hunt, where players had to find checkmate on boards hidden throughout the convention center. There also was giant chess played on two boards and a "Throne Room," where students could be photographed dressed as their favorite chess piece.

Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526.