The Evanston Township High School chess team continued its run of award-winning results at last weekend’s IHSA state chess final. A total of 128 schools played seven team matches on Friday and Saturday at the Peoria Civic Center. ETHS won six of their matches; their only loss was to Whitney Young, by a 37-31 margin, in Round 5. Whitney Young went on to win the state title after defeating Fremd by a score of 49.5-18.5 in Round 7.
Evanston’s 6-1 match record put them in a tie for second place with six other teams: Stevenson, Fremd, Payton, Waubonsie Valley, Dunlap and the Illinois Math and Science Academy. Tiebreaks were used to rank these seven teams, which led to Stevenson and Fremd winning the second and third place team trophies. ETHS ranked seventh and was awarded an IHSA team plaque in recognition of their 6 wins. This result extends the Wildkits’ streak of 6-1 records, which earned them the third place team trophy in 2022, the second place trophy in 2023 and a fifth place plaque in 2024.
Evanston had little trouble winning its Friday matches against Antioch, Lincoln Park, Oswego East and Glenbrook North. After their fifth-round loss to Whitney Young on Saturday morning, the team rebounded by defeating Elk Grove Village by a score of 53.5-14.5.
They closed out the tournament by winning five of the eight games they played against Naperville North to earn a 38-30 victory. The last-round winners for the Wildkits were Somil Bose, Manu Zerega, Shane Asbra, Sam Kemeny and Will Zalmezak.
The Wildkits’ top four players all performed well at this tournament. Adam Elgat finished with five wins while playing on Board 1. Bose, who played on Board 2, and Zerega, on Board 4, each received a performance medal by scoring five wins and a draw in their games. Alastair Keely-Walker won four of the six games he played on Board 3.
The other key to Evanston’s success was their team depth. ETHS used their reserves more frequently than any of the other top teams at the state final so their regular players would be rested and ready to play in the last match on Friday and in the three Saturday matches. The success of this strategy is clear from the team’s results on the boards where the reserves played: Boards 6, 7 and 8. The Wildkits won 20 of the 24 games played on these three boards, including two of their three games in the Whitney Young match and all three games in the Naperville North match.
Five players on this year’s team are graduating in May. They will be missed, but the experience gained by the reserves who played at this year’s state final, and at the sectional tournament, should ready them for bigger and better roles on next season’s team.
Credit: Keith Holzmueller
ETHS wins state chess award for fourth straight year is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.