The SLUH chess team faced off against Parkway West in the semifinals last week. As with previous matches this season, the match took place online due to Covid-19 concerns. The team had spent the four-day weekend preparing for the match and had done preparation (using certain moves in order to cause their opponent to get an unpleasant position from the opening) for their opponents. However, as the games started, everyone found themselves in full-on combat. 

Junior CJ Elam (Board 4) managed to get the upper hand on his opponent and ended up in a good position. 

“CJ rushed his king up the board to create a mating net,” said head coach Rich Esswein, referring to the setting up of a checkmate by stopping the enemy king from moving anywhere. “He made a good decision in an unpleasant situation.” 

However, the rest of the matches would not be so easy, as the Parkway West players punished every mistake SLUH made. 

Senior Henry Narkiewicz (Board 5) missed one move that would have won him the game. Narkiewicz played to a draw after a long and grueling endgame. 

“I had one opportunity to win the game,” said Narkiewicz. “My opponent was good so I was pleased with a draw.” 

Soon after, senior Robert Mize lost a hard fought match. His opponent used a tactic involving sacrificing two pieces to deliver a checkmate. 

“I missed one tactic in the beginning,” said Mize. “I wasn’t really given any chances after that.”

At Board 1, junior Luke Conran had been in a bloodbath since the beginning of the game. Both sides had crazy tactics being played, but Conran was soon overrun. 

“He fought really hard to hold a draw,” said Esswein. “If he had a chance to get a move back then it would’ve made a huge difference.” 

Senior Brody Nester’s (Board 2) game went on the longest. The game was a long maneuvering one that went on for a total of one hour and fifty-five minutes (two hours is the maximum amount of time a game can go). Nester had a balanced game, but fell for a trap and ended up losing soon after due to time pressure. 

The match ended 23-7 in favor of Parkway. However, the score of the match did not reflect how close the match was. 

“We got in our heads once games started to not go our way,” said Mize. “We were too focused on each other’s games instead of our own.” 

“The games were extremely close,” said Esswein. “The score doesn’t show how close a match can be.” 

The chess team loses three of the five current players to graduation. Players like Nester and Mize have played on the varsity team since they were freshmen. But although the team is losing these boards, they are bound to have a strong team next year with players like freshman Daniel Huynh, freshman Max Delgado, sophomore Elliott Murray, and others that can all be on the A team next year. 

The members of the club are all going to practice in the off season to come in strong next year. 

“Chess club has been a great experience,” said Huynh. “I am going to keep doing puzzles and playing games.” 

“I am going to keep playing against my friends,” said freshman Charlie Hill. “I will keep doing competitions with others.” 

Practicing chess is a necessity for Murray, since he is bound to be on the A team next year. “I’m probably going to be board two or three,” said Murray. “So I am going to play a lot at the St. Louis Chess Club.”

For other members like Delgado, players want to do more than just practice chess games. 

“I want to be more diverse with my openings,” said Delgado. 

“The underclassmen still have a lot of untapped talent,” said Conran. “I think we need to look out for players like Delgado, Huynh, and Murray.”

For Esswein, the club was much more active and there were many more players who came to chess club. 

“The Covid situation really made things difficult last year,” said Esswein. “I was concerned about the strength of the team but we gained a lot of really strong underclassmen this year.” 

But with every class, you need to have a leader for the club. Luke Conran has been on Board 1 for the last two years, and is destined to take the role in the club. 

“I will try to keep us on track,” said Conran “I want to set a good example for the lower boards next year.” 

The Chess Club is hoping to keep up with their activity next year and continue to compete in tournaments and keep their discord server running. This week starts the beginning of a month-long tournament run by Nester to help keep the club active. Other events have been planned in the future to keep the community together. 

“I am much more encouraged for the season next year than I was six months ago,” said Esswein. “I am looking forward to see what next year brings.”