This is the first year that the International School of Arizona (ISA) has had a chess team, but they aren’t showing any lack of experience. In an interview, board two player Ethan Takher said, “It’s really incredible. We have learned so much in these past weeks; it’s really showing in the competitions.  We haven’t lost in any matchup against another school. Chess has brought our school together. If you are playing us in a match, be ready for forks and skewers! We make brilliant moves every game, so if we sacrifice the queen, keep in mind it’s a trap!” The chess players at ISA spend their morning recess playing chess against each other, and spend their lunch period on Tuesdays with their chess coach, Williamson Keith.

With the state championship in sight, there’s no doubt that ISA’s chess team won’t fail to impress!

In our chess team we currently have 8 members including Alex Boiron (Board 1), Ethan Takher (Board 2), Kiptyn Ko (Board 3), Connor Tetreault (Board 2/3), Steven Fournier (Board 4), Julian Flowers (Board 3/4) Maddie Tetreault (Board 4) and finally Isla Luna Davis (Board 4). Though sometimes other players play on different boards as substitutes if someone is not there. Alex Boiron is our best player; he won all of his matches on board one, helping us maintain our first-place spot.