Cary-Grove students show off chess prowess at tournament
By KETUL PATEL
CARY – Alex Noll knew going into the IHSA state chess tournament that his team would do well.
But the 16-year-old sophomore at Cary-Grove High School didn’t know how well.
“I noticed that our team got a lot stronger as the year went on,” he said. “We went into [the Illinois High School Association tournament] with a positive attitude, but I don’t know if any of us expected to do really well.”
The team took first place in the 4A class, which is for schools with enrollments of 1,801 to 2,200 students.
The victory came after the team won its conference, the Northern Illinois Chess League, in each of the past three years.
The Cary-Grove team came in 10th place overall, with Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire taking first.
Along with Noll, the members of the team were juniors John Wollney, John Stanley, Kevin Koenig, Josh Brownell, Andy Siles, Brandon Graden and Nick Zimmer; sophomores Joe Selvik and Roger Steinforth; and freshmen Marc Crossey and Stephen Abramson.
Cary-Grove and Stevenson were the only teams to have a 5-0 record going into the sixth round.
“We were all psyched about it,” Noll said. “People came up to us and said they were surprised we did well. So, it was a good feeling.”
Peter Spizzirri, the team’s coach, enjoys teaching students to play chess.
“Most people find chess to be this amazing experience,” he said. “When you get it, it’s like the fireworks go off.”
He also enjoys the camaraderie between the coaches.
“Everybody helps each other,” he said. “There’s nothing like somebody’s trying to hide the secret chess move.”
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Go team! We’ll win the whole thing next year.