Carlos Diaz created excitement for chess at Miami Senior while he was there. I visited the school at his invitation the first year I started in 2005. Carlos taught a chess elective but transferred to Hialeah Senior this past year. It was not a pleasant separation. He gave his heart and soul to the chess program. They attended both MICA and PCS tournaments. His chess elective class was as organized as any I have seen. Most impressive was that he was willing to share all of his lessons, curriculum, ideas and tests for the good of M-DCPS chess programs. He was not afraid of competition. He shared my vision and saw the bigger picture. He is a true gentleman & educator and deserves some credit for the success of Miami Senior's success. Now he is re-building Hialeah Senior into a power.
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Mr. Bigorra took over the chess class this year but left mid year for Arizona. Now Math teacher Julio Aguilar has stepped in with a vengeance. I met him at the M-D College tournament. He is also an assistant basketball coach. He is busy but he is in to chess. He took his students to Orlando where they became the first OPEN state champions from Miami since MICA (club team) used an all star team to win the K-12 Open section in 2002 and since the Miami Jackson Senior days who were lead by my good friend FM Marcel "the Magician" Martinez. Miami Senior also finished in a tie for 4th place at nationals in the Open section. Keep doing what you are doing Julio!
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GM Julio Becerra, arguably the best player in Florida and a serious contender for the US Championships, visited the school last week. He analyzed his game against GM Eugene Perelshteyn at Foxwoods. He played white and Ruy Lopez. His main message was " constant attacks are the foundation for tactical maneuvers" . He also said to be patient and wait to capture pieces. Opening up the lines...opens positions. See the game below. Thanks for supporting our programs Julio.
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