Whitney Young Chess Team Wins Fourth State Title In Six Years

Whitney Young Chess Team Wins Fourth State Title In Six Years
February 25, 2016 1:36 PM By Bernie Tafoya

CHICAGO (CBS) — At some schools, being on the chess club might make you a frequent target for ridicule, but at one of Chicago’s top high schools, the chess team got top billing at a school pep rally on Thursday.

Cheerleaders formed a gate in the Whitney Young High School gym, and then the chess team ran through the middle of a paper banner that read “Checkmate.”

“We like to embrace all of our accomplishments here, and all of the students’ accomplishments, and chess is a very big deal. We’ve won the state championship four out of six years,” Whitney Young Principal Dr. Joyce Kenner said.

“It’s awesome, and it’s just a really beautiful feeling winning a state championship,” chess team senior Caelan Burke-Kaiser said.

Four of Whitney Young’s starting eight players are freshmen, including the team’s best player, Matthew Stevens.

“I’m the best, and manage the most points. If I lose, it’s really devastating. If I win, it’s a really big advantage for us,” he said.

The pep rally was like any other. The school’s band played; and the dance, pom, and cheerleading squads performed. A group of teachers even did a little dance routine, much to the amusement of the students.

Team captain Christopher Rupprecht said he loves winning the state title, and all the perks that go with it, like Thursday’s pep rally, but for him, the winning the game is the thing.

Full article here.