This past week, the prestigious Rambam Chess Team competed in two tournaments. First, on Sunday, several members headed to Yeshiva University for the 3rd annual YU Chess Tournament for Yeshiva high school students. After a very exciting day of chess, with each participant playing six matches, the dust finally settled. Senior Avi Pearlman and sophomore Aaron Grimm tied for fourth place out of 17 competitors, each scoring 4/6. After the tournament, the students had the opportunity to play against a National Master from YU, Bryan Weisz. Most players lost quickly, but Avi Pearlman managed to defeat him in an extremely close game. The group then davened Mincha and headed back to Rambam, more than ready for the next competition. On Monday, DRS came to Rambam for the final regularseason match. If Rambam scored at least 5 out of 14 possible points, they would clinch a spot in the championships for the fourth year in a row. The team did not disappoint. After all the games concluded, Rambam came out on top with a score of 9.5–4.5. Special shoutout to Aaron Grimm and Ethan Farber for winning both of their games. The entire school is now eagerly awaiting the championships in April, where the chess team will try to bring glory to the school and win it all. Kavi Pearlman (Senior) Math Expert Visits Rambam Recently, Rambam had the privilege of hearing from Matt Alpert, a software engineer at Pinterest who previously worked at Google. Matt, who studied at Harvard and earned a master’s degree in physics, spoke to students about problem-solving, thinking outside the box, and careers in technology. During his visit, he challenged students with several thoughtprovoking math and logic problems that required careful reasoning and creativity. One of the problems he presented was a handshake puzzle. He asked students to imagine a party with 10 couples where people shake hands, but no one shakes their own hand or their spouse’s. At the end of the party, the host asks the other 19 people how many hands they shook, and everyone gives a different answer. By thinking through the pattern of possible answers, students eventually realize that the host’s wife must have shaken nine hands. The puzzle showed how solving difficult problems often comes from recognizing patterns and approaching situations from a new perspective. He explained that in the real world there is often no clearcut solution, and many challenges require people to think creatively, just like in the puzzle. He also spoke about how skills such as logical thinking, persistence, and curiosity are important not only in mathematics but also in technology and many other careers. After the presentation, students had the opportunity to ask questions about being a software engineer, working in the tech industry, and what it is like to work at large companies such as Google and Pinterest. We thank Matt for coming and sharing his time and experience with us, and we hope to see him again after Pesach, when he will be speaking at Rambam once more. David Rabinow (Sophomore) JV Soccer Pilot Game Win! This week the JV soccer team had a crushing victory against YDE. From the very beginning Rambam team showed deep understanding of the game through passing and maneuvering the ball. Starters Aaron Grimm, Noah Goldman, Leo Grossman, Aryeh Peskin, and Natan Aryeh displayed their excellence in ball control. This game is paving a new Era for the Rambam soccer team building a foundation for champions.