Nothing was clear by the end of the last round. Over three days in Nashville, Tenn., the MVHS chess team had played seven games, hoping to bring home the championship they had so devastatingly lost the previous year.
After the seventh round, the team convened. Three draws and a loss. That brought their total score to 18 and a half. While the team was aware of their own standing, they did not know how the others teams did in the last round.
“I guess my last round, personally, was kind of disappointing, because I had made a draw … , and if I had won I would’ve gotten a clear first,” president senior Kesav Viswanadha said. “But then, at the same time, that half point, I was thinking ‘could that have made a difference for the team?’”
The year before, the winning team scored 21 points. The year before that, 22 points. Eighteen and a half points, historically, was not enough to bring home the championship. But this time, it was.
MVHS Chess Club won the U.S. Chess Federation National Championship by half a point, a feat the team has been preparing for since their disappointing loss last year. There were 5575 chess players at the tournament, including 272 high schoolers. Among the high schoolers, Viswanadha also tied for 1st place in individuals, receiving six out of seven points from his games.
“We just jumped up and down when we saw the final results,” Viswanadha said. “I was just elated, beyond words.”
The team of four was composed of all upperclassmen: juniors Udit Iyengar, Cameron Wheeler and Pranav Srihari and senior Kesav Viswanadha. Srihari and Wheeler did not think they competed well individually but were ultimately happy with the end result.
“We were ranked much higher than everyone else based on rating levels,” Srihari said. “But we all underperformed, except for [Viswanadha].”
Last Monday, May 22, at MVHS Chess Club’s last meeting, Wheeler was elected as next year’s president, Srihari for vice president and Iyengar for treasurer. The three plan on expanding the club next year and hope to perform as well next year at Nationals.
