A late arrival and a hectic morning was the start of successful 3-1 sectionals run for the Argo Chess team as they propelled themselves into the IHSA state finals in Peoria from Feb 8. to Feb 10.
“Realistically I’m expecting five wins, which is insanely good,” former player and current assistant varsity coach Christian Diaz said when speaking on the state final. “The expectation is high, but we can definitely achieve that.”
These expectations from Diaz are immense, but for good reason. On Saturday, Jan 27 the Argo Varsity Chess team arrived late at Acero-Garcia high school around 9am due to transportation issues. With little time to prepare, excess stress was put on the team. Despite the hardships, the team overcame adversity playing valiantly throughout the day to not only surpass their two-win mark from last year but to punch their spot into the state final.
Though a joyful experience for most, their performance was disappointing for some.
“it could have been better at sectionals,” Said Somya Patel, 11th grader and fourth board for the Argo chess team.
Patel’s 2.5-1.5 record consisting of two wins and a draw earned him the second-best record of the day by an Argo Player.
Patel continued to express his thoughts, saying that even though he faced his own struggles the team needs to be capable of taking accountability, something his coach also spoke on.
“In chess every single move that you make when you lose a game, one of those moves that you made will account for your loss,” Diaz said when speaking on how he thinks chess prepares his players for their life after high school. “So in any game of chess, any one person has to be held accountable for their own actions and how they play the game and that translates to life.”
The team has continued to practice as the state finals lingers right around the corner.
“I’ve been doing puzzles almost every single day and trying to increase my rating by 100 each day,” Varsity second board Ally Coker said. “My biggest goal like to mentally prepare is to have my academics in order so that way I don’t have to worry about it while I’m playing.”
Argo Chess has been ranked 29/128 in the state finals, meaning a strong run at state could be the perfect ending for this team.
“This team is awesome and I’m proud to be their coach,” Diaz said.
