On Wednesday 9 October, our Whitefriars Chess Team took a trip to Parade College to compete in the Junior and Intermediate ACC Chess Tournaments. Spirits were high on the way to the venue, with music throughout trip to get us excited. The team was split into three; Two thirds in the Intermediate 2^nd Division, split into two sub-teams; and one team in the 2^nd Junior Division.

We arrived just on time for the first round. The turnarounds were quick, and the opponents were strong, so the day was challenging, fun, and exhausting all at the same time. Between matches we snatched conversation with each other, bites of food and sips of drink. Overall, each player participated in 7 matches (Unless there was a bye), and we achieved some incredible results.

First, the results for the Intermediate Teams. Although Whitefriars 1 had a strong start, being tied for 3^rd place by the end of round 5, they ultimately lost the lead in round 6. In the end, Whitefriars 1 placed 5^th out of 10 teams. On points, they were tied for 4^th. However, they fell behind on win percentage, the statistic used when a tiebreaker is needed. This was an admirable result considering many of the Whitefriars 1 players were experiencing a tournament for only the second time and considering that their team of five players was nearly able to triumph over a team of eleven players. A special shoutout to Joseph Prossomariti, who was able to break the into top ten in the division, being crowned the 8^th best player (from 92) of the tournament on the day. He won five of his matches and lost two.

Whitefriars 2 finished in 9^th out of the 10 teams participating. The competed valiantly and contributed to the overall success of our school chess group. A shoutout to Hayden Scott, who, made the top 15 players in the division, being named the 13^th best of the day with five wins and two losses.

And finally, our Junior Division results. Every single player in the Junior division was new to tournament play, but they didn’t seem so by the way they conducted themselves. In fact, the top ten players of the division for the day included three Whitefriars players. Nihit Pandey was named the 2^nd best player of the division with six wins and one loss. Eamon Walker came 3^rd overall in the same division, with five wins, one draw and one loss. And Blake Harris came 8^th for the day in his division, with five wins and two losses. This is an incredible effort, and all of us involved in chess at Whitefriars are very proud of them. The Junior Team’s efforts did not go unrewarded, as they came 2^nd out of the 8 teams in their division! They missed out on 1^st place to Salesian by a very slim margin of 1 and ½ points.

In the end, although not all of our teams achieved the results they had hoped for, everyone was able to work on their chess skills and come together as a community. In fact, I made friends with students from other schools. Not only that, but I was also able to strengthen my existing friendships with classmates. Chess tournaments are not solely about the game; while they provide an excellent opportunity to improve your skills and challenge yourself against others, they also serve as a valuable opportunity to forge lasting friendships.

Luka Ivanusic, Year 9