By Andrew Georgy
The 3rd Annual Regional High School Team Championship took place on Sunday, Jan. 11 at the San Diego Chess Club. The championship, originally only for San Diego schools, hosted a wide variety of counties and schools, including Fountain Valley High School (FVHS)’s very own Chess Club.
FVHS finished fourth at the championship, beating out 11 other teams to secure a medal. The team was composed of senior and President of Chess Club Ethan Huynh, sophomore Alex Huynh, sophomore Khang Nguyen, sophomore Patrick Wicks, sophomore Remy Phan and junior Cayden Nguyen.
“It’s definitely one of the events I look forward to every year. I’ve been playing at this tournament for three years, and it’s a great feeling that we finally reached the top four,” senior Ethan Huynh said.
In the championship, a team’s overall result was determined by the combined scores of all its members. A team score of two or fewer points resulted in a loss, a score of 2.5 points indicated a draw and scores between three and five points secured a win.
“I remember in the last game we were all cheering, because one of our members needed to win the final round to achieve a top-four placement [according to the point system]. One of the ongoing jokes is that he can’t finish an endgame, and then he won and we were all like ‘this guy actually clutched up’,” Ethan Huynh said.
FVHS started the tournament off rough, finishing 13th in the first round. However, as the tournament progressed, they quickly found their groove and started bringing up that 13th placement.
In the second round, they had a bye (a chess term meaning not playing the round but getting a full point) due to one of the teams withdrawing before the tournament. That bye, given to only six teams, moved them up to tenth in the second round.
“This was the most confident I’ve felt in our team. Even though we were down badly in the first couple of rounds, I was sure we would pick up the pace and wasn’t surprised at all when we finished fourth,” Ethan Huynh said. “We are a team that doesn’t falter easily.”
To achieve such a high-ranking position, the team trained hard beforehand. Each Friday, when the club holds its meetings, the team practices during lunch, gaining experience and figuring out their respective playstyles.
The team also held multiple scrimmages against other high schools, such as against Segerstrom High School earlier in the year.
“Not only did we practice a lot during our meetings, but I also held lots of online sessions that served to get to know the team better while also practicing stuff like our openings,” Ethan Huynh said.
However, winning wasn’t the only thing that the team took away from the tournament. They learned how to be better teammates, improve their communication and be more mentally focused, according to Ethan Huynh.
“I think the general consensus on chess matches is that you go in a room, play chess and just win or lose. However, it’s also about respectful competition and building a community that is really tight [together] to go on and do great things,” Ethan Huynh said.
Finally, Ethan Huynh hopes the win encourages other students to join Chess Club on campus and start winning some matches on their own.
“Honestly, the only requirement is to show up. You don’t need to be experienced or a genius; we’re really laid-back and just want all our members to have lots of fun,” Ethan Huynh said.
