Riverside Brookfield High School offers many extracurricular activities that have been present for several decades. Among the numerous clubs run by dedicated sponsors and students, the Chess Club and Chess Team have been part of RB for 19 years after sponsor and science teacher David Monti brought chess back to RB. For the 19th consecutive year, the RB Chess Team participated in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championship.
The Illinois High School Association is an annual competition involving different sports and activities. While senior Nathaniel Smolarek has been involved in chess since elementary school, his passion reignited when he became a freshman at RB. During the RB Chess Team’s first match, they were ranked the 90th team going up against the 26th best team of the state.
“As we played in the match, with the way that the points worked, eventually the total match came down to if I could win or not,” Smolarek said. “It wasn’t looking good because I was down a piece, I was down a couple of points, and it was looking like I might not win, but maybe I could draw it out. I decided to play it out, and I was able to come back, win a couple pieces, and win the game for the team. We moved on to the next round, and we were able to get a higher ranking in state.”
In 2005, one of Monti’s zoology students invited Monti to the school library because they needed someone to watch over them playing chess. After recognizing their talent, Monti put in a proposal that year to bring the Chess Club back after several years of not having it available to RB students. From there, Monti experienced many memorable moments, from students winning All-State Honors to competing against many successful teams.
“Nine years ago, the team took first in state for a school our size,” Monti said. “The IHSA only recognizes one team because there’s no divisions or anything. That’s what makes it hard. We’re playing against Lane Tech, and they’ve got 7,000 kids. We’re playing Lyons Township, and they’ve got 4,000 kids. Then you’re playing against private schools who can recruit. Whitney Young won it again this year, but then again, they have a chess program that is famous.”
In the future, Smolarek intends to pursue chess as a hobby. After participating in chess for the duration of his high school career, he looks forward to creating meaningful connections with others interested in the game.
“I’ll definitely want to join a club or some sort of group that just plays chess for fun,” Smolarek said. “I don’t know if I’ll join a competitive team because I think that the college level would be much more elite and competitive. In addition, they’re much more selective—like a sport, it’s harder to get into. I’ll definitely look into it to build friendships and community.”
Monti expresses the importance of self-development in the long run. After maintaining the Chess Club and Chess Team for the past 19 years, he understands the need for community and dedication in chess and notices the correlation between individual and team activity.
“You’re helping kids grow and helping them see the bigger picture,” Monti said. “It’s not just the subject that you’re teaching. I’ve said this for many years with the chess guys: it’s not about the wins or losses, it’s about the growth—how you’re becoming a better captain, teammate, and a better person. You want to learn from your mistakes and not make that same mistake again. There’s lots of mentoring involved, and I think that’s one of the biggest rewards.”
As a senior member of the Chess Team, Smolarek found great importance in encouraging and teaching his peers. This school year, the Chess Team devoted more time to prepare to compete in the state championship. By using different strategies and methods to analyze their opponents while practicing, the Chess Team was able to rise in the ranks by the end of the championship.
“An important quality to have is determination,” Smolarek said. “The chess team is very competitive, and the schools we play are very competitive. Losses are frequent occurrences on the chess team, and with all the matches we have, it’s impossible to avoid it. Being able to take those losses and learn from them to move towards becoming a better player [is very important]. Determination as well as dedication because it takes a lot to learn chess.”
Monti was nominated for the Illinois Chess Coaches Association Coach of the Year among five other nominees.
“The Illinois Chess Club Association organizes all the tournaments and keeps track of the conferences,” Monti said. “They’ve worked with the IHSA with a lot of the seating and planning of the tournament. They’re a pretty active group, and I’ve been a part of it since I started. Another coach anonymously nominated me for coach of the year, which is just a real nice honor. It really was sweet to be nominated.”
Monti hopes to have another teacher take on the responsibility of the Chess Club after his retirement this year and continue to have motivated members keeping the legacy of the club alive.
“I was glad to be a part of the chess team, especially given the historical context,” Smolarek said. “Especially with it being Coach Monti’s last year, it was great that we made it to state and did the best that RB has in recent years. It was really great to be a part of the overall experience with the teamwork and dedication.”