Checkmate, Cambridge: Princeton Chess Club beats out Harvard, MIT

When the Princeton Chess Club traveled to Boston on Nov. 3 to compete in the "Top Four" tournament at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the team's expectations were not terribly high.

The tournament, designed to pit U.S. News and World Report's top four universities against one another, "was for bragging rights about who has the smartest students," said Jonathan Heckman '04, vice president of the chess club. Princeton was seeded last, beneath Harvard and Yale universities and MIT.

To make matters worse, Heckman said, the team was competing on only three to four hours of sleep after the long drive from Princeton to Boston.

"In this particular case it was kind of a strain," he said. "They weren't ideal conditions."

It was a pleasant surprise then when after 20 hours of collective playing time the four Princeton players emerged victorious over Harvard and MIT. Yale did not show up.

"It was a big deal because we weren't expected to win," Heckman said.

Brandon Ashe '04, the club's president, and Ian Prevost '05 each won both of their matches. Two other players, Heckman and Chris Tyau '05, split against Harvard and MIT.

The only loss to MIT came from Princeton junior Elina Groberman, the 2000 U.S. women's champion.

The chess club is now focusing on the rest of its season. The team recently won 9-2 against New York University and is organizing an all Ivy League tournament.

One might not associate chess with fierce competition, but nothing could be further from the truth.

It is a game where rivalries run high.

"The Harvard kids were arrogant snots," Heckman said. "Harvard kids were stereotypically Harvard.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"The MIT kids tended to be like they'd just come out from under a bridge or something."

Near the end of the season, the chess team will compete in the U.S. Amateur East tournament and is considering sending players to the Pan-American Chess Championships, which are in Florida on Dec. 26.

In chess tournaments, teams are assigned points ratings from 0-2800 based on performance.

Last year, the team won in the under-1800 division of the U.S. Amateur East tournament.

"We can do better than expected because we have a lot of underrated players on our team," Prevost said.

The club is also considering playing a "simul" tournament at Trenton State Prison. A "simul" is a match in which one player competes against many opponents simultaneously, moving from board to board. "[The Trenton prison match] is a good way to increase chess awareness. It's also fun," Heckman said.

The team has 12-15 players and meets every Friday.

"It's not as stodgy and elitist as most people think," Heckman said. "Anybody can play it — it's not a question of whether you can afford a certain amount of gear. It just depends on your mind."