Metro League Champions!
On Friday April 30th, the Overlake Chess Team finished the chess season undefeated and walked away as the Metro League Champions! The season started in December with rounds being played monthly. Going into last Friday’s final round, Overlake was tied with Lakeside for team wins and Lakeside just happened to be the opponent. To add extra drama, not only was Lakeside favored, but a 2-2 tie would result in a Lakeside win due to a tie-break advantage. Overlake prevailed and came out on top by a score of 2 1/2 to 1 1/2. The final round roster included Ian McPherson, Will Spencer, Trevor Marcus, and Drew Chouinard. Throughout the year, the Overlake squads also included Will Lundgren, Nolan Michaels, Max Hamburg, Clovis Wong, and John Spencer.
In the final round, Overlake was the underdog, with the average Lakeside player rating being more than 140 points higher. Overlake fell behind early when we took a draw on board 1 and a loss on board 4. Suddenly, the score was 1 ½ to ½ in Lakeside’s favor. Overlake would need wins on the two remaining boards in order to take first place.
Trevor Marcus delivered first. Facing an opponent that was rated over 240 points above him, Trevor had a position that was nearly equal in material, but he was significantly down on time. Trevor had less than two minutes and his opponent had over six minutes when his opponent made a mistake under the pressure that Trevor was applying. Trevor went up a piece in an exchange that eliminated most of significant pieces on the board. With little material left to complicate the position, Trevor suddenly had plenty of time to queen a pawn and win the game.
It all came down to the last game. Will Spencer was facing an opponent that was rated more than 260 points above him. A loss or draw would result in Lakeside winning the league championship since Lakeside had a tie-break advantage. Will fell behind early in an exchange of material but was able to even things up with some strategic play of his own. Down on time, Will reversed the tables, causing his opponent time pressure when he went up in material. In the end, he was able trade off the final pieces and pushed his significant pawn advantage to queen and win the game. Will actually offered his opponent a draw earlier in the game when the position appeared to be more even. Neither he nor his opponent were aware that a draw meant that the championship would go to Lakeside. Fortunately, his opponent declined and Will went on to win. The match was that close!
You couldn’t ask for a more exciting end to great chess season. Well done Overlake chess players!!
Middle School Individual Championships
Three Overlake students played in the MS Individual Championships in Tacoma on April 24th. Ian McPherson played in the open section while Will Spencer and Drew Chouinard played in the U1400 reserve section.
In the open section, Ian won 2 out of 4 games, with both losses coming to players that finished in the top 5. One of these players was rated over 1900. Given the strength of the competition, Ian’s 9th place finish was a strong showing.
In the U1400 section, Will Spencer came in second place, losing only to the 1st place finisher. Drew Chouinard finished with an even score of two wins and two losses, winning all games where he was favored. Unfortunately, Will and Drew had to face each other in this section. This is very uncommon due to typical team scoring rules. However, Will and Drew made light of the situation and had a lot of fun with it.
Congrats to all!
