Over the years, at New Way our sports have evolved, such as accepting Esports as a part of the sports program. This year, our school will be getting our first professional chess team. In honor of the team, a chess banner was added to the gym. Not much is publicly known about New Way’s chess team, so I decided to interview the group’s creator, Simon McAvity, for more information. 

Tyler: So Simon, how did you get interested in chess? 

Simon: I remember in 5th grade My teacher taught me, and It was all out from there, I ran a chess club in lower school and Junior high.   

Tyler: What interested you in creating a New Way chess team?

Simon: When the Esports team was created, it helped me realize that New Way is more open to non-conventional sports and competitive chess is one of the most popular sports in the world I proposed the idea, and they picked it up. So now I have a coaching role, but I also play. 

Tyler: How many people are there on the team?

Simon: We have five people Simon Gersten McAvity, myself, Kayson Bowles, Rhys Patterson, Paul Palmieri, and Eliana Nagata.   

Tyler: Good, even though you guys are starting off small, you’ll build the foundations for a good team I’m sure. Are there any games scheduled for the chess team?

Simon: Yes, there are our first tournament match is this coming Tuesday. To anyone who wants to see we will happily take an audience, but we are not playing for the crowd, we are playing for ourselves and our school’s glory. I have a talented team and can tell you when you get the update on the coming tournament, all you are going to hear about is victory. 

In conclusion, we do have a very competent chess team led by Simon. I, for one, can’t wait to watch and attend games the thrilling games sure to come. Alongside the acceptance of more uncommon sports at New Way.