Scholastics / 2014 National High School Championship
Scoring in San Diego
It takes a grandmaster-elect to win the exceptionally strong individual championship; Catalina Foothills finds their footing after a near
miss in 2013 in winning the team championship. By
GM-ELECT DARWIN YANG, 2014 NHS CHAMPION BRYAN HU OF CATALINA FOOTHILLS, NHS TEAM CHAMPIONS
NHS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: THE CROWN JEWEL
Bryan Hu of the Catalina Foothills Na tion - al Championship team reports his team’s experience:
At the 2013 High School Nationals (NHS,
part of SuperNationals V in Nashville), Catalina Foothills senior and team captain Steven Pennock scored 5/7 points, upsetting a 2100 player in the final round to end his career with the Foothills chess team on a fulfilling high note. When combined with the scores of our teammates, though, his efforts ultimately weren’t enough to win the title; Foothills found itself on the outside looking in, a mere 11
⁄2 points behind the winning team
when the crucial games were completed. Motivated by last year’s near miss,
Steven returned to our team stronger than ever in 2014 at the 2014 National High School Championship fought April 4-6 in San Diego, California. He had a profound impact on the Foothills team that found the little extra from what he had previously provided. Steven returned not as a player— he has since graduated—but as an inval u able assistant coach. Extensive and exhaustive preparation for the players was in his hands. Helping his teammates book up and toughen up were in his hands. Pep talks and infectious enthusiasm were in his hands. We had to score a heroic 7/8 points on
the final day, but at the end of it all, the Catalina Foothills chess team rallied to win this year’s 2014 National High School team championship title in San Diego— and Steven has deservedly become part of a special national championship team. What I’ve begun to realize in its entirety
is the extent to which the Foothills chess team works together as a team. Steven, as the most prominent example, did more than just play for four years: he stuck
38 June 2014 | Chess Life
around for the following season, exerting a tremendous amount of time and effort to help the teammates that he had left. He exemplified the dedication that our players feel to the success of Foothills chess. It should be noted, too, we went undefeated in the Arizona state team system, finishing the 2014 season and state tournament with unprecedented 45- 0 and 25-0 records. In retrospect, it must have been a good omen for more success to come—2014 in review for Foothills defined perfection: a record-breaking season and perfect state title, capped off by a thrilling national title at the strongest high school nationals ever—33 (!) masters and over 80 (!) players rated over 2000. Those who have seen the Foothills play -
ers together know the bond that we share. Coach Robby Adamson is the ultimate competitor and is one of the best at combining searing appraisals of our individual play with emphasizing team motivation and getting us to work together as friends and competitive coworkers. We are not simply names listed under a school name together; we travel together, hang out together, prepare together, and support each other through losses and victories. The title was won not only on the board, but in the camaraderie that defines the Foothills chess team. I was a sophomore last year, leading
the team in scoring at the 2013 nationals by mustering 6/7 points, and although it was inadequate for the team win, I always felt that I had done a respectable job as the top board. This year, I find it to be extremely gratifying that while I slipped and scored a little lower, the rest of the team stepped up to the plate, picking up my slack to win us the tournament in dramatic and clutch fashion. How did we do it? The tournament was
not a cake walk for any team or player by any means. What was the atmosphere of the tourna ment like during crunch time?
By the end of round five, the stage was
clearly set for a shootout come Sunday. We were a point and a half out of first and had to pull out all the stops on the last day to have a shot at winning. Robby and Steven knew we still had a chance to win the event. We would also need, of course, a few other breaks to go our way. Atop our team, my lowly 31
⁄2 /5 points at
that point was an unfortunate contributor to our tough position. In round three, I blundered terribly
against a rising expert in a complex but easily playable position, but somehow managed to escape with a draw by hanging on for dear life and desperately covering square after square. Luck played a promi - nent role as well. The real setback came in round five, when I lost to Abhishek Obili, a strong expert who, propelled by this win to finish with a fantastic tournament, went on to secure a draw with second-seeded IM Alexander Ostrovskiy and defeat Vignesh Panchanatham. The shock was awful and demoralizing
—not only for me, but for the entire team as well. Seeing their top scorer go down was no way to end the grueling second tournament day. Even worse, personal motivation to continue to scrape in points and place well individually was tossed out the window and stomped mercilessly into the ground by a few bad moves and a few acute responses. The razor-thin wire on which chess players walk really set up the fall; 31 from 41
⁄2
/5 points was a world away /5, especially with so many ex -
⁄2
tremely strong masters jockeying for po sition atop the standings. Suddenly, with only two rounds remaining, I felt like the rug had been pulled out from beneath me. The tournament had just gone by too quickly. There was no time to fight my way back to the top boards, and I felt like the remaining two points were to be “salvaged”. In the moment, in the midst of frustration and irrationality, it was all
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