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The Green Dot League — Only one Match to go!
Your weekly recap of league standings, plus a look at the Game of the Week and the Move of the Week
Matthias Winsor
June 17, 2026
Scheduling Note
Today is the final match day of the Green Dot Summer League! Good luck
Welcome to the Green Dot League newsletter! This is where we share updates on league standings, highlight some great moments from league matches, learn a thing or two from our coaches, and of course, share any news about Rookly.
Our next (and final!) Rookly Green Dot League match is Wednesday, June 17th, starting at 3:45 PM.
Let’s look at the current standings. The standings page is public, so please feel free to share with parents, friends, or whoever you think might be interested!
Team | Score |
|---|---|
Ánimo Leadership | 113 |
Ánimo Florence-Firestone | 94 |
Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo | 63 |
Ánimo Ralph Bunche | 53 |
Ánimo Compton | 41 |
Ánimo Legacy | 32 |
Ánimo Ellen Ochoa | 27 |
Ánimo Watts | 23 |
Ánimo Mae Jemison | 20 |
Ánimo Jefferson | 15 |
Now let’s take a quick look our top performers from last week:
Name | Record | School |
|---|---|---|
Jesus M | 6-1-1 | Ánimo Leadership |
Gilberto M | 6-1 | Ánimo Leadership |
Leeum G | 5-0-1 | Ánimo Compton |
Brian M | 4-1 | Alain Leroy Locke |
Angel C | 3-0 | Ánimo Leadership |
Julian R | 3-2-1 | Ánimo Florence-Firestone |
Nathan C | 3-3 | Ánimo Florence-Firestone |
Demario C | 2-0-2 | Alain Leroy Locke |
Joshua T | 2-0-2 | Ánimo Compton |
Stephon T | 2-2-1 | Ánimo Compton |
Game of the Week
The Game of the Week this week goes to Joshua T from Ánimo Compton (White) and Julian R from Ánimo Florence-Firestone (Black) for this exciting finish to a fun back-and-forth game.
It’s White to move—can you find the winning continuation?
White to move
In the game, White played Kf6. This looks like a sensible move, but unfortunately for White this game will now end in a draw—do you see why?
Black’s king has no legal moves available. White’s king and pawn are blocking every single square around the black king.
Kf6
This means that Black’s only move available is to advance the pawn to a1 and promote.
a1=Q
Once Black has a queen, White is essentially forced to recapture.
Remember, the black king has nowhere to move, so this game ends in stalemate.
Nxa1
What should White have done instead? Let’s go back to the starting position.
Starting position
At this point the black king is not stuck on f8. White should instead block the pawn advance by playing the knight to a1.
Black is forced to move the king to g7 (only move), and the promotion square on f8 is now available for the white pawn.
Kg7
One prep move by White solidifies promotion of the f-pawn. Ke7 defends f8.
Ke7
None of Black’s available moves here are helpful in the defence of f8 and White can now promote!
Queen incoming!
This was a really fun finish to an awesome game. You can check out this game below.
Move of the Week
The Move of the Week this week goes to Jesus M from Ánimo Leadership (White) for a heroic last second checkmate while under some serious pressure from Black.
Let’s join this game on move 19 where Black has pinned White’s queen.
Rad8
White exchanges the queen for the rook on a8. The computer says a better option for White would have been to play the queen to d3, but Black is winning in both cases.
Rxd8
Now Black captures the rook on h1.
Qxh1
A few moves later, and Black has mopped up a couple pawns.
Qxc2
Black now gets the rook involved, and things are looking grim for White.
Rd3
It’s mate-in-one, but not for who you might think! After Black’s recent rook move, the black king is undefended on the 8th rank.
White spots this immediately and swoops in for the win!
Re8#
Wonderful work by both players in this one. Check out the full game below.
We are looking forward to an excellent week of chess this week! If there’s anything that you need help with this week please feel free to get in touch with Coach Matthias at Matthias@rookly.com.