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State chess title is coach's parting shot
(by Tony Lange - April 25, 2012)
State chess title is coach's parting shot
By TONY LANGE
Chess is not just a game for Solon students; it's more of a competitive sport with state championships and all.
While the Solon High School chess club has more than 40 players on its roster, the Comets took 12 members of its team to the two-day state competition in Richfield earlier this month.
Tying Shaker Heights for first place, Solon won its first high school chess championship in history.
Members of Solon's state team include Peter Shi, Jigar Saraiya, Sharan Subramanian, Reid Fu, Kyle Qian, Savva Madar, Gabe Baznik, Kevin Ye, Roman Isakov, Chris Abraham, Ian Chan and Luv Jain.
The Solon Middle School team also won the state title. Coached by Tony Dunlap, its players include Congwu Li, Ian Golias, Joey Simone, Joel Jaffe, Daniel Guo and Lawrence Liu.
High school head coach Sean Yee said he's a strong believer that a team is only as strong as its weakest link, and the Solon team had a very strong weakest link this year.
When he started coaching the team six years ago, Mr. Yee said, there were only about 10 players were involved.
"We would have a kid who is super good and a kid who is super bad, and they're not going to help each other," Mr. Yee said. "If their ratings are that far apart, they're not going to want to play each other. As soon as you get two players who can have some rivalry, some competition, then both can excel."
As Solon's chess team became recognized as an academic club by the school and participation rose, so did better competition at practices, Mr. Yee said.
Senior captain Peter Shi, who has been on the team three years now, said joining the chess club was just a natural decision, because he's always been a chess player.
"Winning states was just an amazing experience, because we've worked hard for the championship," he said. "Math is one of my best subjects in school. I'm taking a Calc III and differential equations class right now, which is actually taught by Mr. Yee."
Chess ratings are directly correlated to one's ability to excel in mathematics, Mr. Yee said. He said he can count on one hand how many members of Solon's chess club are not in honors math.
"I think it's just a wonderful way to learn about thinking causality. It will improve your abilities in the classroom and in the workplace, because you have to think in a situational setting," Mr. Yee said. "If I do this, then they do this. And it's not just one or two; you have to go very deep. So you have to do a lot of different combinations of complicated calculations, and you've got to be able to do it in a methodical way."
At the state tournament, each student plays four games the first day and two games the second day on a checkered board with 64 squares. Games can last up to 3 1/2 hours.
Solon's chess club vice president, Jigar Saraiya, a senior, said the two-day tournament can be exhausting. He grew up playing chess with his dad and joined the middle school team at Solon in sixth grade, he said.
"It's really tiring, but it's a lot of fun," Jigar said. "It really takes a lot out of you, especially the first day, because that's when most of the rounds are, but it's just a lot of fun being with everybody, and you see the same faces at all the different tournaments, so it's nice to catch up with old friends and just play some chess."
The team meets on Wednesdays, Mr. Yee said. During practices, he usually shows a video to help club members improve their knowledge before going over specifics, he said.
"We can go through openings. We can go through situations like when do you use this tactic, when do you use these strategies," Mr. Yee said. "There's a whole language devoted to chess, which comes from all over the world. And the geometry is where the direct correlation of mathematics comes in."
While Mr. Yee has been a math teacher and chess coach at Solon for six years, the school board approved his resignation, effective July 1, at its April 16 meeting.
Mr. Yee plans to teach at California State University, and Solon is very fortunate to have high-caliber teachers like him to educate students in the district, School Superintendent Joseph V. Regano and board members said.
The whole chess team is fortunate to have him as a coach, Peter and Jigar said.
"We just wanted to win states for Mr. Yee, because he's really inspired us," Jigar said. "I'm just glad we could do it."
"We're all going to miss him," Peter said.
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