Senior Aarush Vinod emerged victorious after the final match against fellow senior Arnav Gupta in Jefferson’s Homecoming chess tournament finals on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
“Me and Aurush Vinod have known each other since freshman year and we’ve competed in a lot of state and national events together,” Gupta said.
The tournament featured 32 competitors, with eight students representing each class. Some games were played online prior to the semifinals. By Wednesday, Sept. 25, only four competitors remained: freshman Adhirraiyan Ayyappan, junior Kevin Su, Gupta and Vinod.
“I should have played more aggressively,” Ayyappan said. “Arnav is just incredibly fast and Aarush is so accurate. The other two are way above me.”
This proved true as Gupta and Vinod pushed on to be the last two competitors. According to the rules, two players from the same class couldn’t play against one another. However, Su had to leave early, which placed the two friends head to head.
“I felt a little nervous,” Gupta said. “I hadn’t played over the board in a while.”
The preliminaries leading up to the finals were all done completely online, so switching to a physical board added more pressure for the remaining competitors.
“I tried to play naturally, but [Vinod] just got the best of me,” Gupta said.
Both Gupta and Vinod are involved in TJ Chess and Gupta said he appreciated the community that came with that the most.
“Playing with friends is more enjoyable than playing with people I don’t know,” Gupta said. “I could tease or make fun of them if they lose while being able to analyze and discuss the games afterward.”
Spectators described the final match between the two evenly matched players as “very interesting” and “really fun to watch.”
“I just really think that chess is interesting—how such a simple game could have so many possibilities and patterns to explore,” Gupta said. “That’s what keeps me motivated to keep learning and improving over the years.”