Rochester (MN) City Cup

Rochester Chess Tournament
Crystal Oko
KTTC-TV

It doesn’t involve a net, or screaming fans, but chess boards and rooks.

The regular season is over for high school chess players and Saturday it was all about the city cup.

The big rivalry was between the top two teams, Century High School and Lourdes High School.

Nathan Amundson, a senior at Century High School said this about the rivalry, “This year it’s been pretty competitive again. The first time we tied, and the last time we actually won 3 out of the 5 and that was pretty intense.”

Century High School and Lourdes High School have passed the city cup trophy back and forth for several years now and both teams hope they will keep their winning tradition alive.

Rochester Area chess is very competitive with high school teams that have been very successful at the state level.

Chuck Handlon, Rochester Area Scholastic Chess League, “Teams have gone to the state tournament. Century High School placed third in the state tournament last year out of about 40 teams. Lourdes High School last year placed 5th. Mayo High School placed 10th. The teams in our league do very well.

“All competition aside, Handlon says chess is a great way for these students to be spending their time.

Chuck Handlon said, “It’s just a great activity for students to be involved in.”

The winner Saturday was Lourdes High School who will now add their name to the trophy yet again.

Source: KTTC-TV