Chess Update

When the chess season started this year, fifth grader Pearson Doyle said his goal was to keep Trinity's undefeated streak going for a ninth straight year. With one game to go in the season, it looks like that streak will be extended for another year as everyone's favorite team won a match-up with the also undefeated homeschool team by a count of 37-14.

 

Leading the team on board one all season was sixth grader Katie Li. Katie had to play the top three players from each team every week and won 14 of her 18 games. "I had pretty good games all year on board one," Katie said. She said her most interesting game was playing the board two homeschooler. "I was down," she said. "I was close to losing, but he was going after a pawn. Instead of taking back, I set up a checkmate with my bishop and queen." Katie will move up to the Upper School team next year, which she said she was "okay with." Lately she's been working on the French Defense, but it's a very complicated opening, and she said she isn't ready to use it in competition yet.

 

Holding down board two for the Chargers was fifth grader Ollie Mathewson who won 12 of his 15 games. He said his best move of the year was against the homeschooler board one. "I  saw a queen sac that led to a mate in five. I was proud of that. He also tried to trick me in the end by saccing his rook to get a perpetual, but I saw it and moved my king up."  Ollie specialized in precise endgame play to win some of his toughest matches. Ollie is heading to Austin to play in a tournament soon which will cause him to miss two days of school. Surprisingly, he wasn't happy to miss the days. "It's not good that I'm missing, but I want to play chess."

 

Joaquin Gil is another of the fifth graders who may be the deepest class Trinity has ever had. While Ollie is a careful endgame specialist, Joaquin is a slashing attacker. I try to checkmate by surprise," he said. " I could tell I got better this year."

 

Another fifth grader who improved this year is Gus Padgett. Gus won 18 games and lost three. When asked how the season went, he shrugged and said, "It was good." He said his favorite opening was Ponziani's because it is "very aggressive and full of traps." He said he wants to learn the Fried Liver Attack which is another very aggressive opening. Gus said his best move of the year was against Bunche Elementary. "I sacced my knight and bishop to force his king away from his queen. I got the queen."

 

Pearson proved he can win in the clutch when he took first place in Regionals in San Angelo last year. He said this year he played the Scandinavian Opening. He said he didn't practice enough during the summer so he came in rusty. He said next year he wants top work on getting his pieces developed quicker. His best move of the year was when he pulled a bishop backward to take a queen.

 

A new fifth grader to the school this year was Ewan MacDonald. Ewan won 18 of his 21 games, and by the end of the year he moved up to board three. "It was really fun, " Ewan said of the season. "At the beginning of the year I barely knew how to play. Now I'm pretty good." In the battle of the undefeateds, Ewan won one game with a discovered check. I moved my knight to check, and my bishop won his queen," he said. The game he remembers the most though is the one he lost to a homeschooler. "I took a pawn. His queen threatened a back row mate - even if I took his rook, I still got backrank mated. He sacced the pawn on purpose." What did he learn from that loss? "If your opponent sacs a piece, stop and analyze."

 

Evan Walker won 17 of his 19 games this year. His best move was when he sacced his queen on purpose to uncover his opponent's back rank which led to a mate.  For next year, Evan said he wants to see more discovered attacks.  As for his best games of the year, Evan said he didn't remember anything because he was eating Italian Ice and had brain freeze.

 

One of the team's best fifth graders, Barrett Johnson, spent much of the year on the disabled list. He was undefeated for the year but missed almost all of the matches due to schedule conflicts, baseball games, then there was the unfortunate crocodile attack. For the all important game against the undefeated homeschoolers it looked good until he was called away for important business in Washington D.C. 

 

Tom Zmigrosky was the leader of the group of fourth graders this year who had to step up to higher boards. Tom played at a high board last year and moved up even higher this year. "It was fine," he said. He had an exciting game against the homeschoolers where his opponent skewered his king and queen with a rook. That was shattering, but after a long battle, Tom won anyway. How did he do it? "I made good moves," he said.

 

Maggie Berry took a big step up this year. She won 12 games, only lost one, but had five draws which were mostly her stalemating. The game she remembers the most was the first game against Bunche Elementary. "He kept attacking, I kept defending and picking off pieces. When I finally got my rook and queen out, I was able to go on the attack and win." She said someone needs to teach her the Sicilian Defense for next year.

 

Micah Griffith was another fourth grader who took a step up this year. "I mostly annihilated the other teams," he said, "and I want to learn more mates with different pieces," he said. 

Charles Dorman was another fourth grader who took a big step to become a regular on the team. "It was fun except the other players need to be worse so I can beat them all," he mused. His best game he said he used the Carter. "He defended for a few moves, but once I was able to get my rook in the game I was able to destroy him," he said.

 

Christianne Meyer summed up the season for some of the players when she said she wants to learn "new openings and tricks," but the season went "pretty well. My mind has expanded in so many different ways."

 

This year is likely to be the last year for coach Vetter as Trinity has turned down his $14 million team option year.  A trade to the Jets looks likely as the two sides are far apart on a long term contract.

 

The team has one match to go against Bunche, and then it's time to get ready for Regionals which will be held in Midland this year on Saturday, May 13, which coincidentally is also International Hummus Day.