Blaine varsity chess teams go to state tournament

The Blaine High School chess team took both its varsity A and B team to Stanwood High School for the state tournament March 3-4. 

The varsity A team narrowly missed 8th place by one point, which coach Jeremy Roesch said would have been Blaine’s first time placing at the state tournament. Jeremy Roesch said 34 teams competed.

The team has shown a lot of improvement over the past year as the B team finished higher at state this year than the A team did last year. 

In the second round of the tournament, Blaine’s A team faced Tesla High School where the team earned a half of a point out of the possible five. Jeremy Roesch said this cost them in the end, but while unfortunate, the team performed well.

Sophomore Carson Roesch, who placed third at the state individual tournament held at Lakeside High School January 20-21, played an International Chess Federation (FIDE) master in that second round. The FIDE master didn’t use any of his allotted time at the beginning of the four-hour match. Carson Roesch said he would leave the table to either go to the bathroom or watch his teammates’ matches. 

“I felt almost disrespected,” Carson Roesch said.

Carson Roesch said it made him focus even more on the game so he could possibly force his opponent to make a mistake, which he did, but his opponent still took the win. Senior Soren Stanley got a draw against his Tesla opponent, securing half of a point for Blaine but not enough to place.

In January, Carson Roesch took third overall at the individual state tournament in the championship division. Stanley took second place at that tournament in the premier division, and Xander Hodges took third in the reserve division. 

Carson Roesch said the team has improved at an amazing rate after reforming after the pandemic. With Stanley as the only senior leaving the team this year, Carson Roesch said the team is on track to do better next year.

“I think we have a shot at placing at state next year based on how quickly our players are improving based on skill,” he said.