The Brother Rice Chess Team competed in the Illinois High School Association’s Chess
State Finals Tournament at the Peoria Civic Center over the course of Friday and Saturday,
February 14th-15th. This marked the first time at State for every Crusader player and the first
time that the team competed at State in four years, with their last recorded performance of 2
wins and 5 losses in 2020. The rookie team had gained valuable experience over the course of
the past four months and overperformed at the Chicago Chess Conference Post-Season
Tournament, finishing 5th out of 8 competing teams with their record of one win, one loss, and
one draw. The team was clearly gaining momentum, and their hard work over the season led to
1 win and 3 losses with tie-breaking points at their Sectionals Tournament that earned them a
State spot. The starting total of 191 Illinois chess teams at the beginning of the season was
narrowed down to 155 before Sectionals, and only 128 teams emerged victorious enough to
compete among the best of the best in Peoria–one of which was the Brother Rice Crusaders.

     After a nearly three-hour bus ride down to the hotel in Peoria on Thursday (featuring
players teaching each other card tricks, singing, and playing games), the Crusaders arrived at
the massive Peoria Civic Center and sat at their boards amid hundreds of students to play on
Friday morning. Round 1 paired Brother Rice (seeded 114) against Belleville East (seeded 50),
with junior Crusader Board 1 Sean Sloyan scoring a big win using the Jobava London System
against his unsuspecting opponent. Freshman Arthur Collins picked up a win on Board 7 as
well, giving the team 18 points against a team seeded twice as high as them. The Crusaders
headed into Round 2 looking for victory, and they earned it against Oak Lawn Community High
School (seeded 81) with 41 points to Oak Lawn’s 27. The momentum ended against
Bolingbrook (63) with a score of 20 to 48. The final round of day one pitted Brother Rice against
St. Rita, something of a chess rivalry after the two teams played each other three times before
State. Rita’s head coach acknowledged, “This is gonna be a coin flip,” and a close match
finished in favor of the Mustangs who scored 42 points to Rice’s 26.

    With a record of 1 win and 3 losses, the Crusaders went into Round 5 ready to fight. A
battle against Hinckley-Big Rock (93) ensued, but Rice came up just shy of a win with 31 points.
Determined to end the streak, the Crusaders took the fight to Belleville West (89) and won with
41 points. The 7th and final match saw likely fatigued Crusaders lose to Harvey’s Thornton
Township High School (92), with senior Gavin Ryan the sole winner on Board 6. Sean Sloyan
‘26, Enrique Miranda ‘26, and Gavin Ryan ‘25 each earned 4 wins and 3 losses at State, a
strong performance. Jayden Jeka ‘28, Gehrig Lucas ‘27, Emmett Vaughan ‘28, Arthur Collins
‘28, and Robert Kruse ‘28 each contributed as well, and the young players should grow next
year. Coming home, the team enjoyed meals and milkshakes at Steak ‘n Shake, a Crusader
Chess tradition.

    Finishing 105th with 2 wins and 5 losses, 9 ranks higher than they were seeded, the
team returned to its pre-pandemic strength with a truly revitalizing and fun year that included
totally new players, a new coach, and new training. When asked about his State experience,
junior Enrique Miranda said that “My time at state was amazing. It was incredible getting to
know new people and new play styles, and I got to learn from my opponents, teammates, and
coach. I enjoyed the chess matches and bus rides with my teammates the most. I feel like I
could have played better because I made some simple mistakes in the three matches I lost. To

get better I plan to join an after school program that will help me improve my play, and I plan on
studying openings, attacking skills, and defensive skills.” Enrique’s mother, Silvia Miranda,
attended the State Tournament with her family and explained that, for her, “It was unbelievable
and such an exciting experience. It’s the first time my son played at a State level! It means so
much to me to see him so interested in the game… I want to thank Coach Sean for driving
these kids’ interest to a whole, new, different level.” She added that she felt the opportunity to
compete at State was important for her son because he gained confidence. “Confidence that,
yes he can do it. That he has more to offer than what he actually thinks–and I think that was
exactly his takeaway!”

 

Photo by Sean Kirchman

State 12 Caption: Sitting next to Board 2 Enrique Miranda, Board 1 Sean Sloyan develops his
knight, marking the start of the Jobava London System opening for white that led to his flawless
win.

State 37 Caption: Coach Sean Kirchman silently observes his players’ games.

Photo by Silvia Miranda

State Team with Coach Caption: From left to right, Gavin Ryan '25, Arthur Collins '28, Emmett
Vaughan '28, Gehrig Lucas '27, Jayden Jeka '28, Sean Sloyan '26, Enrique Miranda '26, Robert
Kruse '28, & Coach Sean Kirchman '18