On Feb. 14-15, the Niles North chess team competed at the IHSA state tournament in Peoria. The team won six out of their seven games, earning 8th place out of 140 teams.

Niles North played Glenbard North first round and won 65 points to 3. Because of this tremendous win, the team quickly accelerated in the standings and faced Whitney Young, the number one team in the state, second round. The final score was 10 to 58, but that didn’t stop the team from going into the last five rounds with confidence. After losing to Whitney Young, Niles North swept Sandburg 68 to 0 in round three. In round four, Niles North played Morton and won 59 to 9.

The team came back the following day ready for success, winning their last three rounds of the competition. Niles North faced Moline and once again swept 68 to 0 in round five. Round six was against Metea Valley, and the Vikings won 49 to 19. The last round was the most nerve-wracking; Niles North beating Naperville North by a very slim margin – 35.5 to 32.5.

There were seven other teams to go 6-1, so technically, Niles North was tied for second place. However, because of tie breaks, the team took home 8th. Because of the early loss to Whitney Young in round two, the Vikings were put into a position where the teams they faced after that were slightly easier than the rest of the competition. If a team plays a harder team and wins, their tie breaks are higher than a team who also wins but against an easier team. When all was said and done, Niles North finished with 77.7 tie break points.

Senior Ethan Brown was the only member of the Niles North chess team to take home an individual medal. He won six out of his seven games on board one, earning himself 8th place out of all the players on board one in the state. “I surprised myself with how well I played. You can have good and bad tournaments and this one was definitely one of my best,” Brown said.

Rafeh Qazi, a former member of the team who played during Niles North’s first place trophy in 2010, took on the position of the team’s assistant coach starting this year. “I am coaching the best team ever. I made so many great memories that I will never forget,” he said. “Placing in the top eight out of 140 teams is an incredible feeling and I am so proud of everyone.”

The 2014 team consists of senior Ethan Brown (board one), sophomore Lyle Rubin (board two), junior Adam Rubinberg (board three), junior Sohail Amin (board four), senior Bolortuya Tumurbaatar (board five), junior Nahiyan Chowdhury (board six), sophomore Eric Musielski (board seven) and freshman Jiedong Duan (board eight). Juniors Brad D’Costa, Ross Schneider, and Hannah Bader, sophomore Bill Kim and freshman Manduul Tsetsegmaa are alternates.

“I was hoping to get top 30, and maybe by some miracle to place in the top 10,” head coach Harry Kyriazes said. “I was incredibly impressed and surprised that we took top eight because it seemed out of the question.”

Nationals this year take place in San Diego, but the Niles North team is still undecided whether or not they will be attending. Their impressive feat for 8th place definitely shows that they’ve earned it, though. Congratulations!