The all-school Chess Team (back row): seniors Ryan Rosmarin, Brandon Blau and Dustin Lee. Front row: 5th grader Peter Duke, 9th grader Will Duke and 4th grader Holly Ansel. Not pictured: 9th grader Jahan Khan and 7th grader Alex Pakh. AMANDA FISK/Friends Academy The Friends Academy chess team, led by Upper Schoolers Brandon Blau, Jahan Khan, Will Duke, Ryan Rosmarin, and Dustin Lee, as well as 7th grader Alex Pakh, 5th grader Peter Duke and 4th grader Holly Ansel, played a thrilling semi-final round of the playoff match against a very tough Portledge team. They won or drew all but one of the six boards. With this victory, Friends Academy moves into the finals of the Nassau County Interscholastic Chess Championship on January 7. Friends will match up against Chaminade, Shreiber and Jericho in a one-day championship tournament. Chess coach Polly Duke, who is also World Languages and Cultures Dept. Head, is excited about the prospect of this multi-age competitive advantage. “The younger players initially give their larger opponents a false sense of confidence. By the time the game is over, however, any sense of the older player’s domination has faded!”

Holly Ansel, 4th grade, practices her opening. AMANDA FISK/Friends Academy On Nov. 21, FA Lower School students took third place in the Novice division (grades 4-6) in a United State Chess Federation-rated tournament held by the Long Island Chess Nuts.

Friends Academy enrolls 750 students from Play Group through Grade 12, and is guided by its Quaker heritage and the principles of integrity, simplicity, patience, moderation and a peaceful resolution of conflict. The school is located on 65 acres at the intersection of Piping Rock and Duck Pond roads in Locust Valley/Glen Cove.