Whiz Kids of the Week: "Cary-Grove Chess Club"

The game of chess is not a game you can just pick up and play at a high level.

This week’s Cary Whiz Kids are the Chess Club at l led by faculty advisor Robert Nagel. The team will participate this weekend in the IHSA State Finals in Peoria as the No. 31 seed playing against No. 62 seed  Elgin.

The team’s top player is senior Marc Cossey, who Nagel says has lost just two matches all year. Nagel said that it’s a great group of kids.

“They are not only smart but fun and I like hanging out with them,” Nagel said. “It’s fun, everyone has a different personality and each brings something unique to the practices.”

Cossey said it has taken him a lot of time to get to the top of the game.

“I’ve been playing this game since the fifth grade and only now, I’m finally the top guy seven years later,” Cossey said. “It’s not something you can just pick up and be good at. It does take some time and some time for the material to sink in that you learn. You can learn something but you will probably forget it a few times before you remember it especially knowing what you are doing.”

The team’s members are seniors Cossey, Brennen Radosevic and J.T. Theisman, sophomores Iavor Boykov, Joe Conroy, Ryan Jarnebro, Philip Kreisman and Ahanth Vedantham along with freshmen Scott Jette and Michael Spoerl.