Kevin Bulone, coach for Burbank-based John Muir Middle School’s chess club, said that there is one term that perfectly characterizes his team’s performance this year.
Checkmate.
“When you say checkmate, that’s like a big win, which is what we achieved this year,” Bulone said.
The club swept the state championship on March 27 and 28, taking first in the under 600, under 1000 and under 1400 categories. The numbers 600, 1000 and 1400 refer to scores in the United States Chess Federation’s rating system, which classify a player’s skill level. The city of Burbank recognized the team with a certificate during the City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 18.
John Muir High School has found success at chess in recent years, though this is the first time they pulled off victories in all three categories. The squad took first place at the county level in 2020, before COVID-19 shut most of the country down. Bulone credits the kids with the team’s success.
“What I attribute to the success is the connection between the kids and the willingness to want to be able to learn, then practice it,” Bulone said.
Coach Bulone might not be taking enough credit for himself, though. Greg Miller, the principal at John Muir Middle School, said the chess program has totally transformed since Bulone took the reins.
“It’s really through the work of Coach Kevin that all of this is possible,” Miller said. “It is his commitment to the kids and the program that have made it successful, and every kid on the team will tell you that.”
Miller also talked about the resiliency of both the chess team and other students at John Muir Middle School who have had to deal with the online learning during the pandemic. Miller said students and families he’s heard from are missing the in-person connection that a traditional school year gives the kids. Only 400 of 1400 students opted-in to any kind of in-person learning once restrictions were lifted, according to Miller.
The pandemic forced chess clubs to change as well. The state championship, usually an in-person event, moved to a completely online format. Players faced off on chess.com with their cameras on and both hands visible in order to discourage cheating via cellphones or written notes. Bulone said practices were pretty much the same with John Muir students playing each other online, once a week.
And practice the students did. Arthur Tovamasyan, an eighth grader who participated in the tournament, said he practiced between an hour and a half and two hours a day for the week leading up to the tournament. Practice paid off for Tovamasyan, who went undefeated in the under 1000 category.
“I felt like I deserved it,” Tovamasyan said when asked about his personal success. “But I was still amazed that I got first.”
Tovamasyan also said he was surprised that the team won all three categories and was impressed by the play of his younger colleagues.
Fourteen students in total participated in the state championship, according to Coach Bulone. Of those 14, only one was a girl – the first to ever represent John Muir in the state championship. Bulone said he hopes to see more female participation in the club in the future.
For now though, the team at John Muir can enjoy their success, practice for the upcoming season and hope to checkmate the competition when the state championship rolls around next year.