Chess is often overlooked as a sport, but the Xavier Chess Varsity begs to differ.

      Mr. Idel Datu, one of the team’s coaches, believes that the reason for this misconception is because people don’t understand the game.

      “One’s fitness affects the mental capacity and development greatly,” he says.

      Unfortunately, Xavier’s chess team, despite its dedicated coach and passionate players, tends to be overlooked in major tournaments because most players in the team still lack experience.

      However, despite being treated as underdogs, the Xavier Chess team is still a force to be reckoned with, seeing as how it won third place in the high school division and first place in the grade school division in the PAYA competition this year.

      “At this time, the Xavier chess team is a dark horse – not considered a threat to most teams – in tournaments, but it has been consistently surprised [other teams with its strength],” Mr. Datu explains.

      “The team will be joining other small tournaments such as non-master competitions so as to get the players used to tournament play,” adds to Mr. Datu. “This will also serve as preparation for the ISSA Chess Tournament this November and the Xavier-sponsored Xavier Invitational early next year.”

      Even though academics can cause schedule problems at times, Mr. Datu still believes that students should make their schoolwork a priority.

      “Patience and perseverance go a long way. To excel in chess, you have to be able to accept failure. Accepting does not mean thinking you will always lose. It means that losing is just part of the learning process. What’s essential here is being able to get up after every loss and try harder the next time.”

Go back to the top ^