They were masked and socially distanced, but, continuing a long-time Trinity tradition, a team of Trinity teachers and staff took on the 4th-6th grade chess team. The result was a 36-18 student win.

 

All the talk though, was of Trinity teacher Mr. LaFarelle who won all five of his games against the students. To find out how he did it, we went to his son and top fifth grader on the chess team, Charlie LaFarelle. "He's really good," Charlie said, adding what we were all thinking. "He's like Han Solo destroying the stormtroopers during the battle on the Ewok planet of Endor." 

 

Other teachers didn't fare as well as Mr. LaFarelle. Mr. Little has been participating in student-teacher chess matches for over 30 years. He took a historical perspective, paraphrasing Julius Caesar's famous quote, "I came, I saw, I was conquered."  For Ms. Spotts, it was an emotional roller coaster. "I played Eli Lorenz in the first round, and he was so sweet," Ms. Spotts said. "I would have lost quickly, but Eli kept telling me not to make moves that would have been bad. Then I ended up winning, and I felt bad. Then he told me it was his birthday, and I felt even worse." Mr. Mueller took a more optimistic view. "By losing so many different ways, I actually helped the team by showing them all the different ways you can lose," Mr. Mueller said. "So, in a way, by me losing so badly, I can claim some credit for the team's undefeated season so far."  For Mrs. Webster, this was her final season on the teacher chess team. We thank her and all the teachers and staff for playing again this year. It's a match the students look forward to.

 

After a solid 42 - 6 win against the Classical Academy of the Permian Basin, the Trinity team then bat a tough Hillander team 43.5 - 13.5 leaving Trinity as the only undefeated team.

 

This year's team is being led by its top four boards, all 6th graders - Jordan Kaczor, Jacob Kaczor, Brad Scharbauer and Mateo Gil. These sixth graders are tasked every match with playing the opposing team's top players, and the results have been amazing. So far, the four have 24 wins, no losses and no draws. The team also boasts a strong group of fourth graders which should lead to strong future teams. Next up will be a match at Greenwood and then a make-up match against Midland Christian. Then, Trinity's top six players will play in the Midland City Championship.

 

After that, the 7th through 12th grade team will have their turn. Seeing them practice, they should be dominant this year and may be Trinity's strongest team ever.