Last Tuesday, the 28th of November, Chess Club sponsor Mr. Pohana announced the date for the long-awaited 2023 Chess Club tournament, originally announced on October 18th. Set to take place on the 12th of December, this tournament isn’t just for bragging rights like its predecessor. The top four students will go on to represent Loveland High School in the upcoming ECC Chess Tournament, hosted at Kings High School.
This tournament is open to all Loveland students, including those who aren’t in Chess Club. The deadline to sign up is by the 11th, with the sign-up sheet posted outside room 97’s door. The tournament will serve as the Chess Club meeting for that week. It will also likely follow the same Swiss format as last year’s end-of-year tournament, with an equal number of games for each player, and no eliminations. The students with the top four records will win. If you’re interested, make sure to sign up before the 11th, and get some friends to sign up too! If you want to practice or need any tips/materials, feel free to swing by Chess Club meetings leading up to the tournament, or ask Mr. Pohana for help at any time. He recommends playing games on Lichess.org, and using its free analysis tool after games, as well as solving their chess puzzles in your free time. The tournament’s winners will be announced immediately after the tournament ends.
The ECC Tournament will take place on March 9th. If you want to compete in the Loveland tournament, but aren’t interested in competing in the ECC one, just let Mr. Pohana know. If you end up placing in the top four, your spot on the team will simply be given to the person below you. It's absolutely worth it to compete regardless, as the LHS tournament still provides a chance to meet other students and improve. Plus, it's a fun way to kill some time on Tuesday. As Mr. Pohana put it, “the glory of victory is a worthy incentive of its own.”
Mr. Pohana also called the tournament “a great opportunity to grow” for Chess Club, as the tournament is open to any Loveland High School student. He also said that the ECC Tournament will allow Loveland’s Chess Club to “connect with other schools.” Hopefully, this could mean that similar tournaments will become a mainstay as the ECC’s chess community grows.
If you end up missing this tournament, but are still interested in participating in a future competition, don’t worry! Mr. Pohana confirmed that Chess Club will once again hold its end-of-year tournament to crown the Loveland chess champion, as it did last year. However, unless some other external tournament comes up, the end-of-year tournament will be for bragging rights alone. Nonetheless, either tournament is an excellent opportunity to show off your chess skills, and have some fun while doing so. And who knows, maybe you’ll end up being one of the four who represent LHS at Kings!