On Thursday, February 10, West Chicago Community High School held an after-school send-off for the state-bound chess team. 

The team qualified for the state competition at Sectionals on January 29. Eight competitors will travel to compete against over 100 other teams at the Peoria Civic Center. WEGO’s chess team is advised by Joe Splinter and meets every Tuesday in the Learning Resource Center from 5-7 p.m. to practice. The team consists of:

• Miguel ”Mate Master” Garcia (junior)
• Cameron “Castle” Petrie (junior)
• Lam “Tiebreak”  Truong (sophomore)
• Nate “Knightslayer” Bove (sophomore)
• Devin “Draw Demon” Larimer (sophomore)
• Addison ”Advance” Jeffery (freshman) 
• Daniel “Dragon” Kuriakose (freshman)
• Peter “Pawn Pusher” O’Brien (freshman)

Jeffery, who has been playing chess for two years, said, “I am very excited to go to State. I think we have an amazing chance at winning.” 

“We are going to win. We’re going to make Coach proud,” said O’Brien, who has been playing since he was in third grade. 

In 1996, West Chicago tied with the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) for first place at the state championship. This year’s team spent the season studying strategies and practicing so they could perform well at the qualifying conference. The state competition will take place over a two-day period, and consist of 7 matches for each player, the first of which will begin at 10:00 a.m. on February 11.

“I hope they can continue the excellence they have been doing all season. We have qualified multiple times, so hopefully we can bring home a trophy this weekend,” said principal Dr. Will Dwyer.