Lemont Chess Team Wins Multiple Matches At State Finals

LEMONT, IL — For the 23rd straight year, the Lemont High School chess team advanced to the IHSA Chess state finals. The school said the team placed 69th out of 127 teams and won multiple state finals matches at the competition Feb. 14-15.

Head coach Ken Suslek’s team earned victories over St. Charles North, Bolingbrook and Sandburg. According to the school, the team's top performers included senior Luke Selle, who posted 5.5 points on five wins and a draw at Board 8, and junior Matas Carmichael and sophomore Safin Saraiya, who each totaled three wins and a draw for 3.5 points at Board 1 and Board 4, respectively.

In 2018, the IHSA introduced sectional qualifying tournaments to the IHSA State Series and limited the number of entrants for the single-class state finals to 128 teams, the school said. Previously, teams qualified through an in-season tournament.

All teams that post at least 1.5 points in IHSA Sectional play – the equivalent of one win and one draw, or three draws – automatically qualify for the state finals, while the remainder of the field is filled through a tiebreaker by teams that earn 1.0 points in sectional competition.

The school said Lemont placed 12th at the IHSA Hinsdale Central Sectional Feb. 1, splitting four matches to clinch a berth to the 2020 IHSA Chess state finals. Lemont topped Plainfield North and Fenwick to earn 2.0 points and a state finals berth. The team’s top performer in sectional competition was Selle, who posted three wins and a draw at Board 8.

Lemont enjoyed a terrific season, posting a 10-2 record in conference play and placing second in the South Suburban Conference-Blue Division. The school said Carmichael, Saraiya and sophomore Sunny Rana each earned All-SSC honors this season.

Lemont has competed at the IHSA Chess State Finals each year since 1998, the school said. It has won at least two matches in each of those state finals appearances, and has won four matches on eight different occasions, including 2016, 2017 and 2018. The program’s best finish in the team standings came in 2007 when it placed 40th.