Oakdale wins countywide chess tournament
Paul Lian was already a minor celebrity by the start of the third chess tournament organized by school clubs around the county, held at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School on Thursday.
Lian, a senior at the high school, was surrounded by friends and school staff as he prepared for each round of the competition.
Unlike the other students, who competed against each other with physical chess sets, Lian and his opponents played on laptops — his opponent seated at a science lab table, and Lian in his power wheelchair.
As the defending champion, he was the only student to enter Thursday’s event holding a 7-0 record from the previous tournament last fall. He practices at least two hours each day, he told The Frederick News-Post.
Lian was the individual winner of Thursday’s Frederick County Scholastic Chess Tournament. Oakdale High School was the team winner.
Middletown High School’s chess club took the overall club title at the Fall 2023 tournament and returned to compete on Thursday dressed in suits and ties.
“I think they’re going for intimidation,” said Jeremy Brenneman, the Middletown team’s advisor and a math teacher at the school.
“I think it’s just compensation,” said Arthenian Jude Paragsa, a senior at Tuscarora High School who competed in all three tournaments and was skeptical that the Middletown club’s skills would bring them another win.
Students spent a considerable amount of time preparing for the event, with some taking part in mock tournaments and spending hours practicing. During club time, they also talk about strategies, openings and how to make the best move, Paragsa said.
At the tournament, two classrooms were set up with multiple chess sets and timers, where students solemnly shook hands with their opponents before sitting down to play.
Next door, in a classroom set up as a snack-filled lounge, Tuscarora High School student Hunter Page took a short break between rounds to talk with Paragsa about their preferred openings and the benefits of a countywide competition.
“It’s great to play against other students,” Page said in an interview with the News-Post. As a graduating senior, he’s hoping new, younger high school students get involved with chess as well.
A total of 54 students from Brunswick High School, Frederick High School, Linganore High School, Maryland School for the Deaf, Middletown High School, Oakdale High School, Gov. Thomas Johnson High School, Tuscarora High School and Walkersville High School competed in the Thursday tournament.
Scott Rippeon, advisor for the Gov. Thomas Johnson High School chess club and a science teacher at the school, said the event will continue twice each school year, with the next tournament planned for the fall.
