Chess Club Dominates in First-Ever Island Board

Encinal's Chess Club celebrates winning the inaugural "Island Board" match. (image via Jenny Abrami)

On Saturday, June 5, the Encinal Chess Club went undefeated against Alameda High in the first ever “Island Board” chess tournament. The event was held at Alameda High.

“It felt great to win. We weren’t super sure if we were going to win but we went there and were confident in our abilities,” said club president Jonah Abrami. "The participants were matched by seed to make the games fair and competitive."

To ensure the event ran smoothly, players heavily relied on the integrity of each other.

“We kept track of matches and also used the honor system a lot, so people would report how their matches went,” said Abrami. The event was organized in collaboration with Alameda High’s Chess Club.

With the Island Board being a new event hosted late into the school year and right before finals week, it wasn’t able to garner much attention from the student body.

“Next year we’re going to try and have it a little earlier in the school year but it will be a yearly thing,” said Abrami.