By Jenny Kicak
Senior Staff Reporter

Walking by room 207 on a Monday or Thursday afternoon,  you can find Conestoga’s chess team hard at work. Desks are dispersed around the room in groups of two, as students prepare for their next challenges. During these practices, social studies teacher David Zimmerman, the adviser of the club, can be found walking around selling baskets of candy or treats.

“If you can’t beat them, arrange to have them beaten,” the slogan of this year’s team, shows the team’s desire to win.

In his second year playing, junior Dylan “Broken Mafioso” Moriarty, is one of the top ten players. As left-handed Moriarty played junior Doug Stewart, he talked about his goals and strategies as a player this year.

“I want our team to win States in March [and] we have a pretty good chance this year, and we have some good players,” Moriarty said.

The chess team just recently started back up, but it has never been this popular.
“I stopped advising three years ago, just because [...] the person who was going to take it up didn’t know how to play chess. So it was an opportunity to jump back in,” Zimmerman said.

Chess  is a smart game for anyone who wants to play, and Zimmerman encourages all to try it out, even if it is the first time.

“Anyone can participate, it’s good clean fun and good for the brain,” Zimmerman said. “And I always tell people that every great chess player was once a beginner.”

Zimmerman said he really just wants all members to have fun and try it out, and that’s what most members seem to be doing. Sophomore Mai “The Cyclone” Guo,  is one of the few girls on the team.

“I joined because I wanted to have fun and everyone was doing it,” Guo said.
Guo said she comes to enjoy the company of others and is casual about when she comes and when she does not.

“I like spending some one on one quality time with other chess players,” Guo said. “I don’t think I’m very serious about it, but I do like to win.”

Winning is a common goal for the chess team, and as one of the few girls, Guo does not mind taking on the guys.

“As one of the only girls, I feel lonely, but I feel accomplished when I beat the guys,” Guo said.

Other students attend the meetings for different reasons, such as socializing and the material incentives for which Zimmerman is so famous.

“I joined the chess team because my friends were doing it and for the candy. I like the Swedish fish, [especially] the green ones,” said sophomore Mike “The Home Burglar” Hatfield.

Students are able to represent the team at chess matches against other schools.
“Chess matches can be pretty intense. They’re quiet, and you can’t make any noise. The matches are timed so at the end there’s sometimes a ‘scramble’ when you start to run out of time. It moves really fast and can be really thrilling and exciting,” Zimmerman said.

All in all, the chess team can be for anyone.  One doesn’t have to be really intense about it; everyone gets an equal chance and it can be enjoyable for anyone.

“A wide range of people play chess, anyone can come for any amount of time, that’s the beauty of it. Some people come for ten minutes, hours, and some I have to throw out,” Zimmerman said.

Jenny Kicak can be reached at jkicak@stoganews.com.

Printed originally on p.16 of the Feb. 13, 2009 issue of The Spoke.