Houlton High School chess team learning, growing

You might not have heard about this team at Houlton High School, but they are in a rebuilding year.
The Houlton chess team is in its fourth season of competition in the Aroostook League. The team is coached by Roger Morin.
    “Last year, all my players graduated, except for one,” said Morin. “We have a new crop. We haven’t done all that well, but we have won some individual matches. They are all quite good players.”
But, Morin is optimistic for the next two years.
“Next year, we will do better and the following year even better, as we get better,” he said.
The Houlton High School chess team is open to any high school student, even those in other schools, who will play independent. The team practices each Monday at the high school cafeteria and usually has from two to eight players.
“It’s like learning anything,” said Morin, “it takes time. It’s a learning process and it usually takes a couple of years [to grasp] especially when the players are new and hyper.”
Shaina Hamilton, a first-year player, has enjoyed her time on the team.
“It’s been a really great experience because I’ve met new people and had a lot of fun,” she said. “I’ve learned the total points of different pieces and different moves. How to castle was big because I never knew how to do that. When I got into this, I made new friends. I’ve traveled to different meets, which was interesting.”
Hamilton thinks going to a state tournament would be fun.
The Houlton High School chess team plays in the Aroostook League against Van Buren, Presque Isle, Caribou and Fort Kent.
“Our best performance was a drawn match with Presque Isle,” Morin added. “The objective is to get some of these kids into tournament. They don’t know quite know what tournament is like until they go.”
One of the high school players, Duncan Bradshaw has played competitively with professional players, and Morin added, “He has four tournaments under his belt.”
Bradshaw was 16th out of 30 in the scholastic tournament.
Another chess player who has experience in playing, but just joined the Houlton team this year, Cody Queen, is excited about all aspects of chess.
“I’ve learned the point value of pieces,” he said. “I’ve learned to slow down on playing … a lot. I always start to think way too far ahead. That’s how I get checkmated. I like how we travel and the tournaments are really fun.”
A typical chess match takes anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour.
Chess has taught Queen a couple of lessons.
“It gives you a chance to figure out threats and non-threats,” he explained. “I know how to protect a piece and when to go for a checkmate. I know when to move a piece to save it or leave it to capture it.”
Queen said overall that chess was just “fun.”
The senior leader of the team, Axel Keber, breaks down how chess can help in other areas of your life.
“Chess hones mental agility,” he said. “It allows you to develop your logic skills.”
Looking at other teams and clubs, Keber said not every organization is for each person.
“Chess is a game anyone can play,” he said. “There are different skill levels and there will always be someone on your level that you can play, and you can always get better.”
Houlton Principal Marty Bouchard has always supported chess at the school, said Morin. “It’s his effort that has made it a successful program.”
Keber believes chess is closely related to education, even though it isn’t as highly visible as other sports.
“Chess is an obscure thing at Houlton High School, unfortunately,” he said. “It would help a lot of people if they got into chess. It would help them start to learn how to focus. It promotes mental discipline, and the more chess you play, the more you are able to hone mental agility and discipline, along with logic and critical thinking skills as all of this schooling is meant to do.”
Morin would like to see more parents become involved with the program.
“It’s the parents’ decision whether they learn how to play,” he said.
Keber would like to see the chess team’s status change.
“If people would start to see past the sterotype that chess is for nerds or chess is un-cool, it would  help,” he said. “Some people think they are too stupid to play chess. It’s not at all true.”