New year, new chess face-off at State. The games were on from February 9-10 at Peoria Civic Center. Checkmate season, here we go!

   For the past eleven consecutive years, the Guilford chess team has advanced to state. Most people don’t know that this no-contact sport is considered an IHSA sport. Chess is often overlooked as a sport. However, the game of chess is physically and mentally demanding, it’s highly competitive, and it is widely recognized. Guilford’s chess team has seen win after win, making it to state every time they’ve competed. 

   “Every year [we’ve made it] to state,” said Mr. Erik Czerwin, English teacher and coach of the chess team. “It’s fun every year.”

   Coach Czerwin isn’t the only person that’s excited about chess; the players are too.

   “[Chess is] amazing,” said Malachi Yates, sophomore. “I wouldn’t trade this for any other sport.”

  “It’s been great,” said Fern Kuntz, sophomore. “I think I’ve improved a lot, and the team has encouraged me to do many things to become better.” 

   Meanwhile, Mr. Czerwin acknowledges an escalating challenge.

   “The quality of chess has significantly increased. It’s much harder to reach state each year, and it’s only going to get tougher going forward.”

  Despite years of success, there are challenges that threaten the winning streak. The rising difficulty of getting to state this year was expressed by the players.

   “We were placed in a different division with tougher teams,” said Jowell Hernandez, sophomore. “Despite narrowly missing the state qualification this year, I believe that’s the crux of it.”

   Meanwhile, Kuntz reflected on the situation.

  “I think our current situation is similar [to last year],” she said “However, I’ve noticed the neighboring teams improving, which suggests that the struggle will intensify in the future.”

   In the end, Stevenson High School won the state championship. 

   “There’s some tough teams every year,” said Yates.

   Regardless, the team’s experience at state was disappointing.

   “It did feel good to have a role in the team instead of just watching other players play chess,” said Hernandez.

   “I could have done better, but I’ll just do better next year,” Yates said.

   Overall, this year at state was no less than a challenge. Mr. Czerwin expressed how emotional this season was. 

   “[There was] a lot of heartbreak going on in the background,” said Mr. Czerwin. “Just coaches that I know, friends and everything, who’ve passed away. Yeah, the whole season was very emotional.”