Over 1,600 will vie for titles

Chess Team will travel to McAllen to compete for State Title
Over 1,600 Students Will Vie for Championships
(Posted Wed 04:51 pm)

“Death quiet” can be defined as over 1,600 young people playing chess in one large auditorium in absolutely total silence. This will occur once again at the Texas State Scholastic Chess Championship on March 21-22 in McAllen, TX.

The Mexia Chess Team is traveling with a 14-student squad to vie for both the Varsity and Junior Varsity segments of this largest chess event in the state, one that will have schools statewide in attendance.

“Our expectations are high for his event,” said Daryl Inman, assistant coach and a businessman in the community. “We are only in our third year of training, but we have come so very far that we have confidence that we will place in the top ten in each segment, maybe even in the top five. We have no illusions of an easy tournament, as the Brownsville area is super strong in chess and we are playing in their back yard!”

The strongest chess teams in Texas are in Brownsville and Houston, which will be highly represented with ten or more schools. Another forty or more solid teams are expected from the rest of Texas. A number of first year teams of varying skill levels will round out the competition, especially in the JV segment.

The Mexia Varsity Team will be represented by Justin Day, Christopher Lloyd, and Eric Smith, all seniors. Rounding out the Varsity Team will be Thomas Davis, Duke Howard, and Michael Williams, all juniors. Each of these varsity players are veterans from last years state tournament, from which Mexia brought home the Fourth Place Junior Varsity Trophy and the Second Place Individual Trophy, won by Michael Williams.

The Mexia Junior Varsity team will feature Mohammed Ahmed and Layne Riddle, both juniors, and Joshua Garcia, J.T. Williams, Gage Hicks, Hailey Samford, Joshua Jenkins, and Tevin Adams, all sophomores. Only Mohammed is a veteran of last year’s state event, and he has been assigned the job of leading this young JV squad to a competitive standing.

The team will leave during spring break at 5:30am March 20 for the long eight hour drive to the Rio Grande Valley. Tournament play will run on Saturday and Sunday, with the awards ceremony coming late on Sunday evening. After the awards, the team will board their bus and make the eight hour journey back with a stop for what hopefully will be a “celebration” meal.

“It takes a lot of commitment from these young people,” said Eddie Payne, chess coach. “They must schedule and devote time for practice and study of the game, make time for matches and tournaments, and travel long distances to enjoy their competitive sport. They are a determined, energetic, talented group that give me energy with their excitement for the game.”

“I don’t know how high we will finish this year in McAllen,” continued Payne, “but it would play more to our advantage if the event were anywhere else in the state. The Brownsville area has a long tradition of chess play and state championship teams. Also, several international chess champions are present there and are assisting the school chess programs.

“Until recently, Susan Polgar, former Women’s World Champion, was doing much work in developing players competitively throughout the Brownsville area. The Brownsville chess program receives $400,000 from the school systems, and that buys a lot of training and resources. Yet, I think we will be in the hunt for trophies—-the question is how high we can ascend against such formidable foes.”

Source: http://www.mexiadailynews.com/