Chess team has always been a staple club at our school, however, most recently the chess team has seen unusual growth, from truly interested players. The chess team now has more than 15 players and just placed 30th at their state tournament out of 129 teams.

Chess club coach Frank Ding explains their road to state and the competition breakdown.

“The state splits into 8 different locations, and everybody competes… This year there were 158 teams competing in the sectional,” Ding said.

This made for a very competitive field to get to the state tournament, but nonetheless, the team prevailed to continue.

“We ended up with a 4-3 record and we placed 30th out of 129, we were very close to a 5-2 record… but unfortunately the luck did not break with us,” Ding said.

The chess team is always practicing and working hard to improve. If you’re interested in joining chess for the spring season practices will be resuming in march on Tuesdays and Thursdays.