The West Chicago High School chess team recently placed seventh in the United States among 120 teams in an annual national tournament.
West Chicago, which tied for first place in the state tournament, was the top finisher among Illinois high schools in a recent meet in Los Angeles. The national champion was Masterson High School in Philadelphia.
The six-member team included seniors Blair Machaj, Justin Sadauskas, Kevin Brewer, Daniel Janek and Alfredo Muhlberger and freshman Dennis Janek.
“We had some tough pairings that prevented us from doing better,” said Machaj, the team captain. “Our strategy was to go in and play strong every round. “
A nucleus of four team members—Machaj, Sadauskas, Brewer and Daniel Janek–has played together for eight years. They were state champions three times in elementary and junior high competition in 5th, 7th and 8th grades at Benjamin Junior High School in West Chicago.
“I started playing chess in 2nd grade,” Machaj said. On a family auto vacation to Mount Rushmore, S.D., he was bored during the long ride.
The family had a combination checker and chess game on the trip. He had played checkers numerous times, but asked his mother, Sandra, what the other game was. She knew a little about chess and started playing the game in the car with her son.
Machaj was turned on by the intellectual challenge of chess and its infinitely complicated strategy. He then involved his young friends in the game and they have bonded together with a passionate interest in chess.
“It’s a fun, interesting and challenging game,” Machaj said. “I have played 3,000 games, and every one is different.”
Members of the chess team participate in other school activities, including track, baseball, tennis and soccer teams.
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“We have strong support from other students,” Machaj said.