Featured Story
Chess Team Plays New Canaan High School
From Chess Coach Alvin Hamilton
St. Luke’s chess team had its first interscholastic match on Wednesday, December 16. The team responded to a challenge from New Canaan High School by visiting and playing a series of friendly, but competitive games in the late afternoon.
Representing St. Luke’s were team regulars Olivia Mao ‘16, Adriel Alvarado ‘16, and Bilal Memon ‘18, and last minute recruit Austin Howe ‘16. Austin stepped in as the team was literally about to leave after a few other players had to attend to other responsibilities.
The team was met by an enthusiastic delegation of three young men who took us to the classroom where the match was to be played. There we were joined by three more New Canaan players. After a preliminary picture, there was a brief discussion of rules and pairings, and the clocks were set to 15-minutes each, and the match was on.
In round one, St. Luke’s players managed to win 3 out of 4 games. In a highlight, Austin fell behind, but capitalized on some blunders to salvage a win. New Canaan staged a comeback, winning 2 of 3 in the next two rounds.
The final score of 5-5 was only appropriate for a friendly match. This sets the stage for a promised rematch in late January or early February at St. Luke’s. The team hopes to also arrange matches with other local schools and, perhaps, some competition over the internet.
Chess is enjoying somewhat of a resurgence at St. Luke’s with many a game being contested in the Student Commons during free periods and lunch, and some matches even sneaking into the quiet of the library. The school’s club meets on days 2 and 5 in room 116 during Upper School lunch, and there are several middle schoolers anxious to play as well. Chess is also a small after school winter activity from 2:45-3:45pm in the library. Students and faculty are welcome to come and play Monday through Thursday!
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
