The popularity of the hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit served as a gateway for non-chess players to pique their interest in this thousand-year-old sport. Due to the pandemic, the traditional black and white board with wooden pieces seen in the show has now been replaced with LED screens and cursors. Despite this adjustment, the thrill and complexity of chess continue to captivate players young and old alike. With websites like chess.com allowing for online tournaments and competitions, the sport thrives in this novel setup. Allie Ong (Gr. 7), Heather Chelsea Murillo (Gr. 12 ABM), and Darren Chua (Gr. 12 STEM) from MGCNLCA’s very own chess varsity tell us more about this different and somewhat unfamiliar environment.
During the summer, in pre-covid times, how many days per week and hours per day did you originally train?
Chelsea: “Before the pandemic affected my daily schedule, I trained every day for about an hour. My training ranged from playing face-to-face against teammates to lectures taught by my coach. I would also spar often with different players online through sites such as chess.com or lichess, but since summer started, I have been training a lot more. I make it my goal to train for a total of three hours each day.”
How often does the varsity currently meet up to train, and what sorts of activities do you do?
Allie: “We train on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. In addition, there are Sunday Chess.com tournaments which are sanctioned by Hubzstar Chess Center, our coach's tutoring center. Usually at the start of training, we do puzzles to warm up. This helps us practice our time management, tactics, positional mindset and calculation. When we are done, we play tournaments mostly on Lichess.org or Chess.com.”
How has chess influenced your life in quarantine? Has it benefited it or made it more stressful?
Darren: “Chess serves as an outlet for both intellectual stimulation and relaxation. When I want something to think about, I play long games and attempt challenging puzzles. But more often than not, it serves as a means of relaxation, where I experiment by playing different variants and openings that don’t fit my usual style. This experimentation has revealed to me the artistic and creative nature of chess. While it may be so easy to view chess as a game of who makes the best moves, letting my imagination roam free truly makes my overall experience much more enjoyable.”
Do you prefer face-to-face or online training better?
Chelsea: “In my opinion, training online is more beneficial than training physically with a group. Although many other athletes are affected by this pandemic, chess players are not particularly affected because there is a very minimal amount of physical activity needed. Training through Zoom is more lenient but encourages athletes to practice and develop a sense of self-discipline. There are fewer hours of training with a group, but the coaches still urge us to practice for our individual training in our free time.”
Have you competed in any virtual chess tournaments recently?
Allie: “Recently, I have been competing in virtual chess competitions. The most recent tournament I joined was Eugene Torre semifinals leg. Thankfully, I was able to qualify for the finals as 9th place.”
What struggles do you face as a student-athlete and a chess player now that everything is happening online?
Darren: “I’m really thankful that chess, unlike many other sports, can easily be played online. Matchups are automated, which makes things much simpler as well. However, there is a lack of interaction between players. Before, you could easily talk with your opponents after matches; however, nowadays you are simply left staring at a screen. I definitely look forward to face-to-face tournaments in the future, where exhausting matches are rewarded by fruitful interactions with others.”
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