Parkes High School boasts a large number of sports stars but the school also has their very own chess sensations. The Parkes High chess team consisting of core team players Desmond Hinks, Harrison Kennedy and Samuel Rivett and additional players Thinula Senanayaka, Reece Parker, Othniel Chirinda, Riley McIlrick and Lachlan MacGregor have been progressing through the NSW Junior Chess League's Western Region NSW Country Secondary Schools Knockout effortlessly. So far the team have won matches against Parkes Christian School, Red Bend Catholic College, St John's College Dubbo and most recently Gilgandra High School 4-0 in the semi-final. This means Parkes High School is now into the finals for the main competition with their next competitor yet to be decided. Chess matches have so far taken as long as four and a half minutes, which is Parkes High School's fastest win yet, to several hours. One match was held for two and a half hours with the match having to be sent off to adjudication as the match was unable to be completed due to time constraints. Parkes High School chess coach teacher Philip Freeland said the match was close with both players constructing strong defences and committing no blunders. "Neither player elected to take a break during the long and tense match, and the final position was sent to a former Australian world chess Olympiad representative who awarded the match to Parkes High School," he said. The Olympiad's analysis was: "in practice it's not easy to win this rook endgame, but with Black's extra pawn and possibilities of both h5 and b5 breaks I would adjudicate the position as a win for Black". Formal tournament rules apply for the competition with each round consisting of four players from each school competing. We wish the Parkes High School chess team good luck as they approach finals.
