Hays High School’s Chess Club’s season has ended, with members of the team making big moves in the final months of the season.

On Jan. 27, freshman Kamden McBride competed in the Thomas More Prep. Chess Invitational, going 4-2 in the K-12th division, landing him in fourth place. McBride was the only member of the Hays High Chess Club to compete at the tournament.

Feb. 24 was the Hutchinson High School Chess Tournament, with McBride also being the only student to compete for Hays High again. He went 4-2 again but placed eighth in the tournament.

On March 9, the Kansas Scholastic Chess Association (KSCA) held its 2024 state championship tournament at Emporia State University. McBride, along with other Hays High Chess Club members, sophomore Allison Goertzen and freshman Ethan Pierce, were invited to play in this, but only McBride went, joining 164 other players from around the state. At the championship tournament, McBride went 4-2 and placed 23rd in the K-12 division.

Outside of tournaments, the Chess Club sponsored a table during the eighth grade visits this past Feb. 27-28.

Now that the season is over, the team no longer has weekly meetings on Thursday afternoons, but they will be picking back up next school year in mid-August.

“Overall, I’m proud of the growth we had this year as a team and how I played in all the tournaments,” McBride said. “Being my first official year in K-12 and fifth year competing in KSCA, I found it challenging but fun as ever. I can’t wait to play as a team next year, especially with the up-and-coming eighth graders that were interested. We welcome new players at any skill level to join our team.”