Underdog Uni High chess team wins state championship
By Tim Mitchell
Monday February 16, 2009
URBANA – For University High senior Gordon Ruan, Saturday was a dream come true.
The team captain led the underdog Illinek chess team to a 42-24 victory over Naperville Neuqua Valley to win the IHSA state chess championship at the Peoria Civic Center.
“Every one of us has spent lots of time seriously and passionately studying chess,” Ruan said. “I’m extremely proud of our performance.”
Uni, which had been seeded ninth, was one of the smallest schools taking part in the 122-school event. The IHSA has offered competition in a single class in chess since 1995.
But Ruan said his team didn’t let itself be intimidated, even when it was facing schools with 18 times as many students. Uni has 245 students; opponent Lincolnshire Stevenson has 4,545.
This weekend’s victory marks Uni High’s seventh state chess championship, the most of any school in the state.
The other titles came when the IHSA split the competition into Class A and Class AA.
“Uni’s other state championships came against only other small schools,” said Uni Coach Chris Merli. “This year we all competed in a single class. But we were mentally tough all weekend long.”
Merli said the IHSA chess championship is about endurance as much as skill. The Uni players had to play as much as 14 hours each over the two-day competition.
“Along the way they beat the No. 1, 2, 4 and 5 seeds,” Merli said. “We didn’t sneak in the back door to win this thing.”
For Ruan, Saturday’s triumph was particularly gratifying because he had taken so many of his teammates under his wing, teaching them various chess strategies.
Here is the full article.
Well done! Congrats!
As a member of one of the previous Uni High championship chess teams, congrats!