Chess Club is an up-and-coming extracurricular activity at our school, where students of all ages are encouraged to meet during activity period and play chess with each other.

I joined the club at the beginning of this school year, and I have been pleasantly surprised by the dedication and hard work of the officers and other club members. Founded by Owen Rice in 2023, the Chess Club has grown into a staple of our school community by providing students with the opportunity to learn more about one of the oldest board games in human history.

This year, the Chess Club attended a chess tournament at The Walker School in Marietta. Schools like The Walker School, Cornerstone Academy, Mount Paran Christian, and Augusta Preparatory all competed that day.

The tournament, which took place on March 19, 2026, had teams of six compete in a point-based tournament where each player would earn 1 point for a win, 0.5 points for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. After an overwhelming number of applications from Chess Club members asking to participate in the tournament, it was decided to create three teams based on varying skill levels.

The Team 1 players included Owen Rice, Jack Richerson, Griffin Heard, Mills Chambless, Woods Walker, and Tanner Garrison. Members of Team 2 included Jackson Cox, Bryce Matlock, Dylan Dwyer, Owen Hare, Hayes Rollauer, and Hudson Kalb while the Team 3 roster was comprised of Alex Kritzer, Tyler Corbett, Baker Hardison, Reed McMichael, Bobby Peters, and Andrew Walker.

As the Chess Club moderator, teacher Katelyn Lagnese also attended the tournament to make sure Marist was well represented.

On the day of the tournament, all the Marist competitors met outside the Walker School to talk strategy. When it was time, we went inside to begin the tournament.

Once inside, the tournament proctor explained the rules. Each player would play six games, and at the end, they would take the four highest scores from each team. The games were played with chess clocks, allotting  15 minutes per player. With that, the first game began at around 9:00 AM.

As the day of competition progressed, we began to see how fierce the competition really was. With players Jack Richerson and Mills Chambless winning some huge games against the Walker prodigies, the Team 1 took a strong lead in the first three games.

Following the third game, the proctor posted individual scores on the wall so that players could see how their team was doing. After reviewing each player’s scores, we realized that Marist Team 1 had a chance of finishing high up on the scoreboard.

The proctor then announced that several awards would be given out to teams and players with outstanding achievements. The high school teams that earned the highest and second-highest total scores would receive a trophy, as well as the highest individual scorer earning a plaque of their own.

We got together and realized that we could take home a trophy if we performed well during these next three rounds. The fourth round went worse than expected, but in the fifth round, five of the six Team 1 members won their games.

It all came down to the sixth and final round. Five members of Team 1, including myself, finished their matches relatively quickly. We then gathered around to watch Griffin Heard in his final match.

There was an intense back and forth, with Griffin’s time running out while his opponent still had a few minutes to spare. Then Griffin took the upper hand.

He promoted his pawn to a queen and took his opponent’s last piece, leaving him with only a king. Finally, Griffin slowly walked his opponent’s king down to the corner where he was eventually going to deliver checkmate. His opponent saw this and resigned, giving Griffin the final win of the tournament, and maybe just what we needed to give our team a good finish.

After the sixth round, the top four scores were as follows: Owen Rice (4.0), Mills Chambless (3.5), Griffin Heard (3.5) Woods Walker (3.0).

It was finally time for the placements announcement. The proctor gathered everyone around the trophy table and called out the winners.

For high school, Marist Team 1 earned second place overall, granting us a trophy and kudos from our opponents. After the announcements were over, the team picked Griffin up on our shoulders and took a celebratory picture with him holding the trophy.

When asked about his experiences with the tournament, club president Owen Rice had this to share: “It was a fantastic experience, seeing how the Marist Chess Club stacked up against other schools and learning from matches against opponents from other schools was extremely rewarding.”

Club officer Griffin Heard explained that reflected on the whole experience: “It was great to showcase what the Chess Club has to offer and compete against some great chess players. We all had a blast coming together to win a trophy in the Chess Club’s first competitive tournament, and can’t wait for more success in the future.”

After a long day, the team took a trip to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate the big win and outstanding performance from every player. The next day, Athletic Director Derek Waugh agreed to place the trophy in the trophy display case for a short time to honor the Chess Club’s great achievement.

Looking back, I am incredibly fortunate to have experienced this tournament, and I am excited for what the future of the Chess Club holds. Thank you for reading, and I advise anyone who is interested in joining the club to please talk to Griffin Heard.