The upper school chess team lost 2.5 to 4.5 to Monta Vista on Nov. 12 in a fast-paced, team-based match. Harker’s score is the closest score to Monta Vista’s than any match that they have played in the past three years.

Both Harker and Monta Vista are part of the Santa Clara County Chess League, along with Saratoga, Lynbrook, Leigh and Cupertino. Each school participates in five matches, each consisting of between four and seven boards.

“Though it’s informal and rather quick–45 minutes per side–this match is one of few chances this year to show our strength as a team, for chess tournaments are usually individual sports,” chess club president Richard Yi (12) said.

Richard, Evan Lohn (12), Vignesh Panchanatham (10), Michael Wang (9), Shaunak Maruvada (9), Rohan Desikan (12) and Ananya Krishnan (10) competed as the upper school team. Both Vignesh and Richard won their respective games. Evan drew with his opponent, and Michael, Shaunak, Rohan and Ananya lost.

Throughout the school year, the players practiced by reading books, participating in other tournaments and playing online.

The team has a new selection of skilled players this year.

Vignesh, who is nationally ranked in the top 10 in the 16 and under division, defeated a U.S. top 10 player, Varuzhan Akobian, in the first round of the Millionaire Open. Michael is nationally-ranked in the top 15 for youths aged 14 and under, and Richard is in the top percentile of juniors in the country. Shaunak has gained approximately 100 rating points over the last three months. Mistakes in the evaluation of chances cost the games of some Harker competitors.

“I think that on move 10 was where I messed up since I thought he would castle and took the bishop and he recaptured, opening the h-file and attacking the h2 pawn, which was only guarded by my king. I let that threat go, which was a huge mistake,” Ananya said. “I then simplified the position even more, making it easier for him to focus his queen and rook on h2 since I had traded off all my minor pieces.”

In other games, tenacity and maintaining composure were the key to victory.

“I ended up getting a very good position and slowly outplayed him by forcing him to defend his pawns, but I erred and lost a lot of my advantage,” Vignesh said. “Eventually I reached a slightly rook better endgame, but at this point, we both had less than one minute left on the clock. The pieces were flying, and I reached a winning position before my opponent’s clock ran out.”

Others were hindered by time pressure, leaving them with lower chances to find optimal continuations. Tournament play often involves games lasting up to six hours, but the shorter hour-and-a-half time control created an unfamiliar atmosphere for players.

“Unfortunately, my time management was horrid and I had three minutes to [my opponent’s] 25 minutes,” Michael said. “Well, I was still holding my own, but then I lost the thread completely.”
Michael added, however, that he enjoyed the experience as an opportunity to play casually against a rival school.

“I thought the match was very well-organized overall. It was a pity that the time control was so short – I’d rather have more time to think than just 45 minutes,” Michael said. “Even so, the entire experience was very good.”

Monta Vista defended the National High School title easily last year, with two players, Kesav Viswanadha and Cameron Wheeler, in the top five of the country for their respective age groups.

This match concluded league play, and the chess team plans to travel to Atlanta from April 1 through 3 to compete in the National High School Championships.

This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on November 20, 2015.