On the weekend of March 7th, Jesuit’s Chess team took home the state title at their final competition. They won first place trophies in varsity, JV, and the overall tournament. Additionally, five varsity players won their respective boards.
The team leader, Ishaan Kodarapu, is known as a U.S. Chess National Master, which is a ranking only 1% of players ever achieve, as a 17 year old kid.
"Chess is my favorite hobby, I’ve been playing it for the better part of my life, so personally, being able to lead others to enjoy and compete in the game is a great joy to me. I can play the game while teaching others, which is a great feeling,” said Kodarapu.
Team moderator Dr. Russell Fiorella watched over and witnessed as the team continued their history of success at the state competition. “They don't really ask me often to play games," mentioned Fiorella. "They know that it probably would be over pretty quickly … I mean, they would destroy me!"
Although Dr. Fiorella shows his strong humility as a team moderator, the team mentions how important he has been to them and how much his support has meant for their success.
“I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Dr. Fiorella for his guidance, coaching, and leadership throughout this event,” said Ishaan Kodarapu ’27. “His constant support and commitment made it possible for us to compete at the state championship.”
With the team’s recent success, they have also expressed their gratitude for those who taught them their skills. The team mentioned their success would not have been possible without learning from experienced players and getting better each day.
We prepared by playing games against each other, analyzing chess puzzles with complicated positions, and going over games with analysis. We covered all of these in our weekly meetings, starting months before the tournament” said Danny Mamchik ‘27.
With the competitiveness of the game of chess, there is also a communal side that occurs as it also brings people together. Chess has become an activity that anyone interested can play form various age groups, bringing together each of us.
“For me, the chess team is a supportive community where people can come together and enjoy the game of chess (with a little bit of competitiveness of course), ” said Mamchik.
The team’s victory marked Jesuit’s fifth varsity chess title in six years after finishing runner-up to Westview in recent years.
Link to news video: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/community/pacific-storyland/jesuit-high-school-chess-team/283-9c76ba47-09be-4204-b785-2b710f07344a
