Queen to A4.  Bishop to C7.  David to State Championship.  And… checkmate.  After picking up chess in kindergarten, Senior David Rokhinson has gone on to play tournament after tournament, recently taking first in the Indiana Scholastic Chess State Championship.

David explained that he became interested in chess at the young age of six, when he began participating in a chess class at his school in New Jersey.  After he expressed an inclination for the activity, he took private lessons from first through third grade.  His first tournament was a schoolwide one in first grade, in which he placed first.  Around that time, David also became a member of the United States Chess Federation (USCF), a national organization in which members earn points after every certified tournament they participate in.

When he moved to Indiana, David began attending larger tournaments around once a month.  He described chess tournaments as normally consisting of around 50 people silently seated across from each other.  “All you hear are the clocks ticking,” he described.  The participants are paired up so the top-rated players go against the lower-rated ones, and matchings continue in a bracket style with each participant playing around four to five matches.  

Around 3 years ago, David had the opportunity to participate in the Super National Chess Tournament.  This particular tournament is a one of a kind experience, he described, where he was able to meet Gary Kasparov, Susan Polgar, and many other world-renowned chess players.

David went on to spend his sophomore year abroad in Cambridge, England, where he joined the Cambridge City Chess Club and played in tournaments about once a week.  He later earned their “player of the year” award for having the best win-loss ratio.  When he returned, David volunteered at the West Lafayette Public Library and Happy Hollow Elementary as an assistant chess coach and tournament director, respectively.  Nihayet Ersoy, the organizer of these clubs, commented, “Our members loved to play with him.  He is a bright young person, but also has good behavior and motivation.”

Most recently, David participated in the Indiana Scholastic Chess State Tournament on March 3rd, where he won first place in his division.  He has participated in this tournament seven times before.  He described normal preparation as going over openings, training to recognize traps, or simply trying to get as much sleep as possible beforehand. “Playing chess for a whole day at a tournament is unexpectedly tiring,” he explained.  Now, David has earned a shiny trophy as proof of his success.  “Personally, I’m very excited,” he added.  “I’ve never gotten first in the state before.”

David advised budding chess enthusiasts to be patient with the game.  “With sports, people like a ton of action and tend not to think in terms of pure strategy,” he explained.  “In chess you have to plan your game and continue to keep track of all the pieces on the board, even if they haven’t moved in a while.”

Though he is not sure where he will be headed next year, David definitely wants to continue playing chess in college.  He has already joined the Purdue chess team and played for them in a tournament.  David’s chess prowess paired with his love of the activity ensures that the skill will stick with him wherever he goes.  “I like when every now and then you get a very nice checkmate,” he smiled.  “Sometimes… it just looks so nice.”