About a dozen students huddled around a table in the Quail Run School library, staring intently and whispering among themselves as they watched coach Steve Robinson and fourth-grader Alan Shi engage in a game of chess.

Resting on a ledge 10 feet above them were about 75 trophies the team earned during the past decade.

Down the hall in the gymnasium, about 40 more chess team members pondered where to move their pawns and rooks. Looming high above were the squad’s championship banners.

“We’re about two years away from being in a real space crunch,” Robinson chuckled as he admired the collection of hardware.

Actually, two years might be a stretch. There isn’t much room left to hang another banner or place the team’s latest state championship trophies.

Big wins

Quail Run won two chess state championships March 13 at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park. They picked up their sixth straight elementary school title, and also won the junior high crown.

Other team members were Austin Clapp, Gage Buffington, Cole Reams, Garrick Clapp, Andrei Elliott, Luke Lesslie, Alec Linot, Caleb Borovik, Kane Eggers and Rozie Jordan.

Sixth-graders Peter Lesslie (fifth), Thomas Reams (seventh), Kellen Cross (eighth), Neil Newsome (23rd) and Keely Stenseng (30th) placed in the top 30 out of 194 players in the elementary school tournament.

Members of the Quail Run School chess team practice. The team won both the elementary and junior high competitions for Kansas and move on to national competition next month.

Sixth-graders Jed Borovik (second), Shi (11th), Thomas Clark (38th), and fifth-graders Keil Eggers (17th) and Harrison Helmick (31st), led the way to the junior high crown, despite being younger than their opponents.

“They’re bright kids, and they work very hard,” Robinson said. “What can I say? They’re a lot of fun to work with. They’re great kids that prove with hard work you can achieve anything you want to.”

Southwest Junior High’s team, composed of many former Quail Run players, also brought home a trophy when it became the first junior high in Kansas history to win the high school state title. Deepyaman Datta, a ninth-grader, was the individual champion, while Benjy Greenberg, Jena Games and Anjali Datta also contributed strong finishes.

National competition

Now Quail Run is turning its focus to the National Elementary Chess Championship, where six members will compete April 2-4 in Pittsburgh. The squad was co-national champion in 2001, runner-up in 2002, and placed seventh last year.

Expectations are high for a return to the winner’s podium after the team’s success at the state meet, and sixth-grader Stenseng said she was a little bit nervous.

“I just hope that we all do really well,” she said. “None of us are going to go 7-0 in our games, but I just hope that we do our best and try to get first place.”

The team practices Tuesdays and Thursdays, and will continue to practice throughout spring break.

With nationals approaching quickly, the top players also will compete in a March tournament in Kansas City. The competition will be mostly adults, and the games will be longer.

“It’ll expose them to a higher level of competition and it will sharpen their skills for the national grade school championship,” Robinson said. “That’s always the highlight of our year, so we’re trying to get the kids in peak condition so they can have optimum results.”

Sixth-grader Borovik said the preparation was important. He will be making his fourth trip to the national competition and he wants to bring home another championship.

“Winning is a big deal,” Borovik said. “We’re expected to win because we’ve done really well in the past.”

“But it’s also a lot of fun,” he added. “We get to go to a new place and miss two days of school.”