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PEAPACK-GLADSTONE - Gill St. Bernards juniors Peter Horton of Chatham, Akshay Patel of Warren and Tyler Tellalian of Far Hills traveled to Orlando, Fla., from Dec. 2-6 to test their chess technique against the best in the nation at the U.S. Chess Federations National Championship.

The trio secured their spot in the competition after an impressive first place win in the 11th Grade New Jersey Chess State Championship.

Coached by of Ian Prevost, the Gill Upper School computer science teacher and Chess Club faculty advisor, they returned home ranked eighth in the nation.

The accomplishment was impressive considering the lack of meaningful practice opportunities available to the boys during the pandemic.

Like with many extra-curricular activities, face-to-face playing time was limited over the past year and a half, chess competitions were postponed, and the bulk of training was completed online.

Except for playing against members of the GSB Chess Club, the boys had not been exposed to the endurance or concentration required for competitive play.

We prepped for two to three hours each night leading up to the competition, but we could have used more, Patel said. The competition was brutal.

We played two rounds on Friday, three on Saturday, and two more on Sunday, Horton explained. There were over one thousand kids in the room, and each match had the potential to last three hours.

That adds up about to nine hours of chess a day.

The tense hours spent pouring over the board did not dampen the boys spirits, and in fact, it inspired them to want more. All three plan to continue training in whatever fashion they can and hope to return to the national stage again next year and place in the top three.

While the goal may seem ambitious, club advisor Prevost said he believes they have what it takes.

Its been amazing to see how much progress theyve made in the previous two years, he said. Over COVID, they each gained 500 rating points in strength, which places them in the top 5 percent of players their age who are playing online.

The boys are proud of the teams success but are even more grateful to have carried on the GSB legacy.

This is the second time in four years that GSB has been to nationals, said Tellalian. We have a lot of history in chess, and we want that to continue in the future.

GSB last earned a spot at nationals in 2018, and that talented trio, all seniors, returned home with a second place trophy.

Based upon this pattern of success, the boys dream of building a lasting GSB chess dynasty is within reach, and the recent excitement will carry the team well into the next championship season.

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Gill St. Bernard's chess team ranked 8th in nation - New Jersey Hills