Jesuit Chess Team Wins Third State Championship

After a very challenging competition, the Jesuit High School varsity chess team won first place in the 2023 Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation's K-12 State Chess Team Championship this past weekend. This championship win makes the team three-peat chess state champions. There were over 280 players from across Oregon at the tournament, making it the largest US Chess rated team tournament in Oregon state history! The team finished the tournament as the only undefeated team in this year's state team championship. Congratulations to Roshen Nair ’24, William Nobles ’26, Conner Jensen ’24, Harry Zhou ’23, Rohan Sastry ’24 and the team’s coach Al Kato for their hard work and well-deserved win.

Also, congratulations to the Jesuit High School junior varsity chess team, which won First Place in the K-12 Reserve (JV) Championship: Manu Isaacs ’26, Alexandre Boyce ’24, Anirudh Jagannathan ’25, Anay Aggarwal ’26, Arjun Agarwal ’26.

And finally, congratulations to the following Jesuit chess players who received individual first place board awards in their respective sections: Roshen Nair ’24 (Varsity Board 1), William Nobles ’26 (Varsity Board 2), Conner Jensen ’24 (Varsity Board 3), and Alexandre Boyce ’24 (Junior Varsity Board 2).

“Jesuit is blessed with a hardworking and talented group of chess players this year,” Al Kato said. “Under Roshen Nair’s leadership, they were able to prepare and strategize the entire day’s five rounds of chess, resulting in a well-deserved win.”

"I would like to appreciate Mr. Kato for all of his help as our team’s adult leader during the whole school year and in this event,” Roshen Nair said. “Without his help and constant support, we wouldn't have been able to compete in the state championship. As the captain, I would also like to appreciate the chess varsity and junior varsity chess teams for their constant effort and tremendous hard work. This year, in the face of increasingly challenging competition, our chess team was able to pull off such a huge victory thanks to the dedication and commitment of each of our team members. We are looking forward to next year's state championship (and winning the state championship 4 years in a row)."