The chess teams at Evans Junior High School in Bloomington have done something that has never been done before in state history. Its sixth, seventh, and eighth graders have all won state championships in the same year.
The dominant showing came as 66 Illinois junior highs and middle schools sent teams to this year's Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) state tournament that filled the Peoria Civic Center.
The students played eight rounds over two days. Chess parent Dana Curby said it's something to behold.
“You have tables 10 boards wide. There are thousands of kids there and games that were lasting the entire time,” said Curby.
It's not like Evans Junior High is new to this. The seventh-grade team won last year. To sweep all three grades, though, is unprecedented. And it's not just Evans. Chiddix Junior High in Normal finished second among sixth graders and third in the seventh-grade section.
Evans chess coach Barry Bridgette said the entire community is strong most years, thanks to a network of teams.
“I think it starts at the elementary level. Benjamin Elementary has just an excellent feeder program. It goes early on, and it just grows throughout the county,” said Bridgette.
Most of the Evans players take the game very seriously indeed. Dana Curby said her son likes the team aspect and hanging with other smart, funny, clever kids. He likes being part of a group that wins but has also invested in the game itself.
“He is the kid that is going to walk around with his phone in his hand, not looking at videos. He's playing chess – all – the – time,” said Curby.
Another committed player on the 6th grade team is 12-year-old Sanchit Gupta.
“In chess you have to have a good IQ and use your mind. And you can focus really hard on a game," said Gupta.
Gupta plays chess online a fair amount. He lives for finding just the right thing to do on the board.
“I just feel like really happy, like oooh, I just got a good really good move,” said Gupta.
Gupta said he plays standard E4 openings, mostly. Sometimes he'll throw in a lesser seen opening that is tactically sharp.
“I like the ‘Scandinavian’ because people usually fall into it,” said Gupta.
The Scandinavian Defense is also called the Center Counter gambit.
For a lot of players chess is casual, something to do after school. Coach Bridgette said with this group, he could tell the first day, it would be something special.
“When they get to chess club all they want to do is play chess the entire time. When you're at the state tournament in between rounds, we bring 20 boards with us. And if they're not in the tournament playing, they immediately come back to the skittles room and then they're playing more chess. They don't stop,” said Bridgette.
Bridgette has coached basketball, football, all kinds of sports. He said chess players are just like any others who excel.
“The determination. The work ethic. I see how they're thinking. They talk to each other. They talk about strategies. You know why he did this? They put the work in. And they come eager to put the work in,” said Bridgette.
Bridgette has the eighth graders play and teach the sixth graders every week in practice. They're good mentors, he said.
“They all just want to get better together, which is one of the really cool things about the group. They really do just do everything for each other,” said Bridgette.
Vamsi Munaganuri is one of those eighth graders. He's been playing for eight years. He got into chess because some of his friends played, but mostly because an elementary school teacher told him to join and see how it went.
“It was pretty fun for a few days. It's with my friends. We just laughed around. And then I started playing for my school. And then we slowly started winning,” said Munaganuri.
So, is it the winning or the beauty of the game itself that's the attraction?
“Well, it's both I guess. If you win, you want to play again. That's how I play again and again. If I lose, I just lost my urge. So, I guess it's mostly the winning," said Munaganuri.
Munaganuri has won a lot. He has topped the field all three years at the Junior High state tournament. The first year was easy, he said, because there were a lot of beginning players in his division. This year he was top rated. Last year was tougher because he had to beat higher-rated players, including a ranked master. It can be stressful when you're at the board and time is ticking away. When you get nervous, Munaganuri said it's hard to think.
“I sometimes will go into the game way too much. When I'm against a lower-rated player and it's equal, and I'm running out of time, I just start shivering, all of a sudden. I honestly think it's a problem sometimes. But right after the game it ends, said Munaganuri.
He tries to manage his energy in those moments, get up, go to the bathroom and get a drink of water, or take a mental break to recharge in the middle of the game.
“That's all you can do. Honestly, sometimes you just walk away from the board, look at other friends’ games, or just random boards you can see, and then just forget the game for a while and then come back and then look at it with a fresh mind,” he said.
But over the board, the world mostly goes away.
“Time goes through really fast. People get shocked when I tell them my games sometimes last four to five hours. When you're playing you don't feel that time going away,” said Vamsi.
Even in eighth grade, Vamsi is in the top 30% of all U.S. rated players. He dreams of becoming a grandmaster.
Coaches work to manage the emotions of players and try to teach what Munaganuri already grasps. Barry Bridgette said when a kid is down after a tough loss, coaches console. They try to keep it light and loose. He tells them not to worry about winning or losing, but about playing and having fun. This works, sometimes. In the late rounds of a tournament, when a team is in contention, though, it can get a little tense. You might think the older kids would feel it more. After all, the younger ones are there just to play and have fun, right? Not so competitive?
Bridgette said this year that was not the case.
“Honestly, the sixth graders were a little bit more on edge. The other guys had been there and already won state championships. It was old hat for the seventh- and eighth graders this year. The sixth graders knew they were with the state champions. I think they put a little bit more pressure on themselves,” said Bridgette.
This year. All three grade level contests were squeakers. Evans won by just half a point in each grade. One skinny little draw’s difference.
“On the way out this year, I had about three different people say, ‘Hey, we're gonna get you next year.’ I think what we've done the last two years with the program put a target on our back,” said Bridgette.
The Evans Junior High state champion teams got a welcome home from the tourney from parents. They got a trophy-walk through the school during the week. And next year, they'll go back to not just having fun with chess but competing.
