Jefferson Junior High Chess Team Checks in with Two First Place Trophies

Story by Diane Moca, submitted to Patch.
Photo 1: (left to right) Jefferson Junior High board winners Prathika Senthil, Ilya Kristesashvili, Ian Bromfield, Walter Marsh and Robert Broniarczyk II.
Photo 2: (from lower left clockwise) Amber Moca, Alex Hernandez, Rohan Sethi, Carson Aldrich, Ilya Kristesashvili, Walter Marsh, Colin Baker, Robert Broniarczyk II, coach Joe Wechman, Kendall Burrow, Ian Bromfield, Kyle Leonard and Prathika Senthil of the champion Jefferson Junior High Chess Team in Woodridge.

Ten talented chess players had all the right moves this past Saturday while trying to fill some big shoes at the annual conference tournament, representing a team that had taken first at the competition two of the past three years.

Not only did the Jefferson Junior High chess team checkmate its way to another tournament win on Saturday, but the team also tied for first place in the end-of-season standings for the Southeast DuPage Elementary Athletic Association conference.

“The third time is a charm,” enthused a beaming Joe Wechman, coach of the Woodridge team for the past 12 years.

The team was headed by first board player Amber Moca, who has been on the junior high team since she was in 4th grade. Moca finished the season with an 10-3 record, nearly mirroring the team’s 12-2 record.

The team was strengthened by other players who joined while still in elementary school, including fourth board player Kyle Leonard and sixth board player Walter Marsh.

Solid wins from Kendall Burrow on second board, Prathika Senthil on third board, Ilya Kristesashvili on fifth board, Robert Broniarczyk II on seventh board, Ian Bromfield on eighth board, Carson Aldrich on ninth board and Rohan Sethi on tenth board also led to the strong finish in the season and at the tournament.

Wechman was overwhelmed at the beginning of the season with nearly 30 interested players competing for the top 10 spots – a far cry from several years ago when Wechman said he had trouble fielding enough players for a full team.

Each coach must rank his top 10 players, with the strongest player at the “first board” spot and so on to tenth board. At the meets, the players from a team are paired against the same level board player from the other team.

At the conference tournament, eight teams compete, with one point awarded for each chess game won. The tournament also awards 10 individual medals, one to each board level player with the best tournament record.

The Jefferson team had five board winners at the tournament Saturday – Senthil on third board, Kristesashvili on fifth board, Marsh on sixth board, Broniarczyk II on seventh board, and Bromfield on eighth board.

Article written by Diane Moca, freelance reporter, and fact-checked by Joe Wechman, coach.