Hansen Du, freshman, claims the best part of chess is that, “I get to win.” 

The grandmasters of history looked in awe as a majority freshman team carried Hoffman to a state competition, placing 48 out 129 schools.

The team jumped like the knight does on the chess board, over multiple hurdles to achieve this success. When asked what brought the team to their victory and lead up to state, Alex Emerick, sophomore, discussed the importance of preparation.

“I think it was our team’s cooperation and training. As in chess, training is just as important as any other sport, like basketball or football, if not more,” said Emerick. Devanshu Pandya junior captain, agrees.

“Everyone’s a key player on the team,” said Pandya. “It’s a 100% team effort. Even if we lose, it serves as a placeholder so we can move up. Every single game has led us to where we are; its 100% a team effort.” 

United, the chess team’s use of teamwork and bonds brought them to a successful victory to advance to state. 

“My favorite part is just the team spirit,” said Emeric. “We’re just like every other team. People can think we’re boring and stuck up but no we’re really not.”

Sponsor Patrick Swanson was excited about the team’s, “third [place] in conferences, the first time in 12 years.”  The team placed third at the MSL conference and the regular season.

Pandya said a visit to state did not at first seem possible at the start of the season. “We had no faith in the team this year,” he said. “We had so many freshman and sophomores this year and we didn’t expect much, but over the course of time, we started to bond together and learn. As a result of that we’ve had the most solid team we’ve had in years.”