Knightly News

There was standing room only at the first meeting of the Middle School Chess Club, with a wide range of students, including athletes, artists and academics, answering club sponsor Scott Stephenson’s call for members. The response and enthusiasm were so much that Stephenson had to change the club format and find a venue much larger than his English classroom.

Now, Webster Refectory hosts Middle School students who compete in a Swiss System Chess tournament every Friday. To begin the tournament, students were randomly assigned an opponent in the first round of play.  As the tournament continues, students are assigned a competitor based on their ratings. Stephenson says he organized the Chess Club this way to encourage students to take the game more seriously and give them a gauge of their improvement over time. The new format is working, and a chess community has formed.

A Love for the Game

“The thing I love most about chess is the strategic aspect of chess and how you can play tricks on your opponents if you know the board and game well,” says eighth grader Kael Johnson.

“What I like the most about chess is that there is no set luck involved, so you can never say it was bad luck,” says eighth grader James Williams. “You have to admit that you need some learning.”

“It is fun and requires skill and strategy,” says eighth grader Devin Welden.

Kael, James and Devin have all played chess for some time, and they enjoy the opportunity to play at school. “I’ve played chess since I was a kid, but I never truly understood the game on the level I have now, since I started coming here,” says James. “I joined the chess club because I want to make myself a better chess player,” says Kael. “I thought it would be fun to play chess with friends, to have fun, and to get better,” says Devin.

More than a Competition

Chess teaches much more than strategic moves, and many of the life lessons are particularly helpful for Middle School students. Stephenson points out that students develop time management skills, especially when using chess clocks. They also learn the consequences of their actions and how to think from the opponent's perspective. “The best chess players learn to control their impulses,” he says. As an added bonus in an academic environment, Stephenson says chess is a lot like school. “You have to study, and you have to do your homework,” he says.

Chess Success

Here’s a look at some of the chess success affiliated with the Middle School Club.

Stephenson began playing chess at 10 years old with his dad. He eventually went on to compete in state tournaments in Louisiana and Texas. He earned first place in his first tournament.

Junior Matteo Runge, who was a member of the Middle School Chess Club his eighth grade year, is well known in the chess community. “I enjoy chess because it challenges me mentally, with no element of luck involved,” he says.

Matteo’s chess career is impressive, with one highlight being his first place finish at the 2021 Scholastic State Championship, which qualified him for his first national tournament representing Louisiana. Since then, Matteo represented Louisiana at the national competition in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and his best finish was a tie for ninth place. “My most memorable victory was a five-hour game against a player from Arizona, which earned me both an award and a cash prize for the largest upset of the tournament,” he says.

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