Chess
February 10, 2007
Lane Tech in 29th place after First Day of State Chess Tournament
Round 1 Lane Tech 54 Marmiom Military Academy 14
Round 2 LincolnWay Central 68 Lane Tech 0
Round 3 Lane Tech 52 St. Charles North 16
Round 4 Lane Tech 57.5   Belleville East 10.5

(Peoria Civic Center- Peoria) Lane Tech went into the state chess tournament seeded 17th in the state with a shot at a top 3 state finish. After the first day of the two day tournament, Lane's chances for a state trophy are dashed but still find themselves in a good position for a top 15 finish. Lane started the day with a 54-14 thumping of 45th seed Marmion Military. Lane won every board in the first match except board 7 when Marmion's Alex Dense-Dieshce beat Lane's Chris Zamora (Jr.). In the second round, Lane's championships hopes were dashed when 4th seeded Lincoln Way Central swept Lane Tech 68-0. But in the 3rd round Lane came back with a convincing 52-16 victory over St. Charles North and to end the day they took care of Belleville East 57.5 to 10.5.

Lane has a total of 163.5 individual points which makes their total the 18th highest in the 121 team field but their tiebreaker points have them in 29th place.

On the team side, defending state champions Niles North is the leader going into the final round tomorrow. Right behind them is Chicago Public League power Whitney Young. Look for an exciting final round. Niles North, Whitney Young, Evanston, Lincoln Way Central, and Stevenson all finished the first day undefeated and thus all will have a chance to take home the title.

On the individual side, Lane Tech has four players with 3-1 record thus far. They are Kevin Velazquez (1st board), Paaras Modi (2nd board), Patrick Maciejewski (4th board), and Chris Morales (6th board). Nathan Wong of Stevenson goes into the final round as the leader in Board 1.

The final 3 rounds will be played on Saturday, February 10. Three victories by Lane will  guarantee a top 10 finish and match the last top 10 finish of the chess team when they finished 8th in the state in 2005.

GOOD LUCK LANE CHESS!!

Lane Tech 2007 State Roster

Chicago (Lane)
Head Coach: Steve Parsons
Asst. Coach: Les Bale
  David Atanus (Fr.)
  Catherine Flores (Sr.)
  Sergio Hernandez (So.)
  Olena Jaworska (Sr.)
  Jae Lee (So.)
  Roger Macias (Jr.)
  Patrick Maciejewski (So.)
  Javier Martinez (So.)
  Paaras Modi (Fr.)
  Chris Morales (Jr.)
  Kevin Velazquez (Jr.)
  Jan Wieczorek (Sr.)
  Chris Zamora (Jr.)
 

The scene at a chess tournament in Evanston Township High School earlier this school year.  Evanston is part of the North Suburban Chess League(NSCL), the toughest conference in the state. The NCSL had 5 teams finish in the top 7 in the state in 2005-06 including state champion Niles North and state runner up Evanston. (www.chesscoach.org photo)