Toowoomba Grammar School chess teams win state titles

CHESS: It’s an individual sport, but when Grammar’s players they do because they are part of a collective, part of a team.

The school’s primary and secondary teams won their respective Queensland Inter-School State Final regional titles at the weekend.

For the primary boys it was their first ever win and the secondary team defended the title they won last year.

“It (chess) is an individual sport, but I think the strength of our boys is how well they work as a team,” TGS head of chess Thomas Schmierer said.

“They train and play together all the time.

“There’s a big focus on helping each other develop as players by sharing idea and strengthening their skills.”

For primary captain Theo Yevdokimov the win was a pleasant surprise.

“I didn’t think our score was enough to win,” he said.

“When I found we had won I was very surprised and happy.

“Most of our team had gone home by then so they were surprised and happy as well when they found out.”

Yevdokimov is a big fan of the “surprise play” and the “beauty” of the game.

“Chess is a beautiful game,” he said.

“You have to be ready for the end game, because if you are and you control it, it is a beautiful.

“The Queen is one of the most mobile pieces on the board but sometimes you make the decision to sacrifice it (the Queen) or another piece to win the game and that’s when chess can be beautiful.”

Despite heading into the finals as defending champions, secondary school captain Flynn Taylor said the side felt no extra pressure.

“Winning it again was a good achievement for the team,” Flynn said.

“We’re all very proud.

“I don’t think we felt any pressure, everyone was working very hard before it.”

Originally published as Toowoomba Grammar School chess teams win state titles