With the Glenbard East Aries tournament coming in two weeks, the Taft Chess team is picking up steam to prepare and come out on top in the ever-approaching match. The previous tournament at the Hinsdale Central Red Devils resulted in 3 out of 4 wins for the chess team, a good start in the season, but what will they do to keep up the momentum for the next tournament?
“We’re gonna be up against some of the better teams from the suburbs and city schools, like Whitney Young and Lane from the city, Glenbard East, Glenbard South, Barrington, so it’s gonna be a tough tournament especially because we have a bunch of freshmen on our team this year,” said Coach James O’Shaughnessy.
“We’re doing the same routines that we have always done, especially since we have a bunch of new players,” he later said in regards to the expectations of the match. “Well we’re not gonna win, no, but if we can take two points from the tournament out of the four that are offered, then that would be a good journey.”
The tournament, according to O’Shaughnessy, would be about the same as the previous tournament at Central Red Devils in terms of difficulty and competitiveness.
“I feel like it’s going to be less competitive,” said team member Tate Daniels. “Because in the same tournament last year there were less competitive teams at that tournament compared to the red devil tournament from last year so I am expecting it to be slightly less competitive.”
“My strengths are visualization and tactical play, and my weaknesses are positional play,” he continued.
Daniels later said how the tournament would help him in future chess tournaments. “And I think this tournament would definitely help improve my strengths and weaknesses as all tournaments do, just because it gives really good long games to review and look over and just learn about what I do correctly and what I do wrong.”
The qualities that Daniels thinks would help increase the chess team’s chances of winning the tournament is, according to him, “Their openness to learn.” He later elaborated in which he said, “Because it makes people so much more motivated to get better and do better.”
“I’ve been taking chess a lot more seriously than I did at the start,” said team member Abd Alrahman. Alrahman said that the tournament would be more competitive than the last tournament and that he has started practicing a lot more since the last tournament.
“I don’t think the tournament would help me improve, but I think it would just show me really what I am worst and better at,” said Alrahman.
Alrahman said that the qualities that would help the chess team increase their chances of winning are, “An encouraging and helpful team” and that it is, “Always a better team.” Alrahman later said, “As long as you get help from others around the team, you’ll always improve.”
The chess team is moving in the right direction as it is shown and tells of good things to come to prepare and come out on top in the upcoming tournament.
