When
chess coach Rick Nelson put his 2007-08 Sperreng Middle
8th-and-under chess team together, he stressed the fact
that all members should consider themselves as one team.
When the kids won the 2008 Gateway Chess state championship,
they found out what he was talking about.
The team's best players finished 8th and 9th in the individual
scoring but the Sperreng's cumulative team score was enough
to give them the state team title.
R.J.
Mohr |
Seventh grader R.J. Mohr of Sunset Hills finished 65th
in the individual scoring. But, he said, "Coach told me,
if I had lost just one additional game, we wouldn't have
won the state championship."
Eight Sperreng kids made up the state tournament team.
Usually, the four best scores are used to determine the
team champion.
Nelson said, "But, if there are ties, the other kids' scores
come into play."
William
Bernard |
So, when the Parkway School District's chess teams were
honored last month, all the 8th-and-under team members got
a 1st place trophy.
At the evening awards ceremony, all of the Lindbergh High
School chess team members also were recognized. That team
won third place in this year's state tournament.
Coach Nelson supervises all the chess teams in the Lindbergh
School District, from elementary through high school.
Vidhan
Srivastava |
Fourteen-year-old William Bernard and 12-year-old Vidhan
Srivastava were the two Sperreng players with the highest
individual scores for their team in the state meet. Eighth-grader
Will of Crestwood was the team captain.
Like a lot of the players, Will and Vidhan got started
at chess by playing with their fathers. In Vidhan's case,
his older sister, Vidhi, was also one of his first opponents.
Will said he started playing when he was in 2nd grade and
has won 20 trophies in tournaments. One of those was a third
place finish in the state tournament when he was in 5th
grade.
He said one of his strengths as a chess player was his
ability to concentrate and anticipate an opponent's next
move.
However, he said a lack of concentration at times is one
of his weaknesses. "I need to make less obvious mistakes.
I need to think about each move before I make them," he
said.
Ben
Harris |
Vidhan, also of Crestwood, said the best part of his chess
is "being able to consider other player's tactics." But,
he said he gets in trouble when he adopts a certain strategy
and "then not adapting to what my opponent is doing."
Twelve-year-old Ben Harris said he likes to pattern his
play after Vidhan's game. He said Vidhan is good at planning
strategy and "if he takes time to plan a move, you can be
sure it will be a good one."
Ben, who lives in Fenton, said the strength of his game
was the ability "to analyze what is happening and know what
to do next when my opponent makes a move."
Jordan
Watt |
Ben's another player who started playing chess with his
dad, Steve.
Twelve-year-old Jordan Watt started playing when he was
eight. His first opponent also was his dad, Reese.
Jordan of Crestwood said he plays about six to eight tournaments
a year and has won two first places so far.
He said the best part of his game is the ability to play
well in the middle of each test. But, he said, "I need to
work on my end game. Oftentimes, I make mistakes at the
end of a game."
William
Spaeth |
Twelve-year-old William Spaeth of South County started
playing at age three with his dad, Richard.
Although many of the players said they're favorite chess
experience was winning the state championship this year,
William has a different "favorite."
"My favorite was placing first in my division in my first
tournament," he said. That was at St. Catherine Laboure
School. He said lots of kids at that school participated
in chess.
Luke
Borkowski |
Twelve-year-old Luke Borkowski was another player who played
chess when he was in elementary school. In his case, he
was at Long Elementary, one of the schools in the Lindbergh
district.
Therefore, he was a part of Coach Nelson's program for
two years before he got to Sperreng Middle.
He said he was introduced to chess when one of his father's
co-workers showed him the huge chessboard at Pere Marquette
state park in Illinois. One of the attractions at the park
which is northeast of St. Louis is a chessboard with big
chess pieces.
The chess team members have lots of other activities in
school.
Will Bernard plays the guitar, bassoon and alto sax. He's
the lead bassoonist in the Webster University Youth Orchestra
and plans to play alto sax in the Lindbergh High School
marching band next year.
Ben Harris plays percussion in the school band and takes
martial arts lessons.
Jordan Watt is on his school's cross-country team and
takes piano lessons.
Vidhan Srivastava plays viola in the school orchestra
and he's on the student council. He also placed 2nd in the
state Science Olympiad.
William Spaeth is another three-instrument musician. He
takes lessons in guitar, piano and clarinet.
Luke Borkowski plays sports and he's in the Sperreng Drum
Line as a percussionist.
