After months of chess clocks ticking and backward pawns, the Edgemont chess team reached victory and won the New York State Scholastic Chess Championship.
The tournament took place in Saratoga Springs with exclusively highly rated players. Tensions rose toward the end of the tournament, when the team tied, unsure if it would take home the first place trophy. Once the results from all of the games came in, the team burst out into cheers and high-fives because Edgemont had one the first place title.
“I am thrilled to meet the Edgemont chess team and congratulate them on their success,” said County Executive George Latimer. “Every team member I interact with today clearly has the patience and vigilance that it takes to play this complex game.”
Captain of the Edgemont chess team William Graif said: “Edgemont chess has always been unique in that it is led, coordinated and coached by students – this has been a rallying cry for the team throughout the years in the face of grandmaster coaches from our competition. With nothing but pure dedication and passion for the game of chess, the Edgemont team has – starting from complete scratch – accumulated five top-four finishes at nationals for our respective grades, including a ninth-grade national championship and third-place at high school nationals, as well as now back-to-back New York State high school championships.”
