Winter 2012 Issue - De La Salle Institute

ACADEMICSCheck out theCHESS CLUBIt’s a game of skill and concentration. It’s a game of tacticalmaneuvers and strategies. It’s a game that most of us believe isonly for a small fraction of people who are stereotypically deemedthe “smart kids.”James Patterson ’15 is one of theleading newcomers to De La Salle’sChess Club.In truth, the game of chessis open to a vast group ofpeople, some of whom arein fact the “smart kids”,while others are jocks,thespians, musicians, andmembers of every othersocial group. It’s a diversegame, not only in the typeof people who play it, butin individual skill-level,and De La Salle’s chessteam is a walking testamentto that fact.“We’re one big meltingpot. There are people whoare crazy, people who aresmart, people who bring life to everything,” James Patterson ’15remarked about the makeup of his fellow teammates.As one of the co-ed clubs on campus, chess is among the clubsthat gets our young women and young men together after theacademic school day has ended. The club meets every Tuesdayand Wednesday at the Lourdes Hall Campus and at the InstituteCampus on Thursdays. The young women and men pair up andpractice tournament-style with each other.“It’s a family,” says Sandra Tobias ‘12, with a huge smileon her face.“We like chilling and hanging out.”The moderator for the Chess Club is George Dzuricsko, achemistry teacher at Lourdes Hall. Dzuricsko commented onhow for the last few years, the Chess Club has been an IHSA All-Academic team, meaning that collectively, the club’s participantshave a 3.0 grade-point average or higher. He believes it’s partiallydue to the fact that the students are so close.“The kids help each other out with homework,” Dzuricsko said.“[In chess club], the students can be somewhere where they fit in,where they’re part of a group.”For students like Tobias and Patterson, chess has been in theirlives before joining the Chess Club at De La Salle.Tobias started learning “how the pieces move” as a sixth-gradestudent at St. Pius V School.“I got better and better and better, and I grew to like it,”Tobias said.Patterson’s grandfather, James Patterson I, was ranked No.7 in thestate of Illinois, and his father and sister play as well.“Chess is in my genes. It runs in the family,” he said.Both students enjoy chess because it gives their minds a way tothink critically and creatively.“It’s a war! You learn tactics,” Tobias said.“I like it because it teaches battle skills,” Patterson said.“And I get to use my overactive imagination. I pretend that thepieces are moving.”Whether male or female, the students in the Chess Club truly enjoynot only each other’s company, but they appreciate the differentpeople who participate in their sport. At their tournamentsevery Saturday during the year, the students get to know fellowchess players from other city and suburban schools. And thetypes of students they meet at those tournaments never cease tosurprise them.“We meet a lot of newpeople,” Tobias said.“People you never thoughtwould play chess.”Tobias was even surprisedto learn that other Meteors,whether students orfaculty, know how to andenjoy playing chess. Sheencourages anyone whoknows how to play to getinvolved in the Chess Club.“We’re a strong team withstudents who have greatpotential,” Tobias said.Sandra Tobias ’12 analyzes the boardduring Chess Club competition.Academics 5