![Lemont maintains streak at 2020 IHSA Chess State Finals]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1582151387/lhs210net/rrzp5vqryrq7h8wvuugp/2020ChessStateFinals.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1582151387/lhs210net/rrzp5vqryrq7h8wvuugp/2020ChessStateFinals.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1582151387/lhs210net/rrzp5vqryrq7h8wvuugp/2020ChessStateFinals.jpg","width":680}])
At the 2020 IHSA Chess State Finals, which were contested on February 14-15 at the Peoria Civic Center, Lemont High School placed 69th of 127 teams and won multiple state finals matches for the 23rd straight year. Lemont advanced to the state finals from sectional play for the third time in as many years.
Head coach Ken Suslek’s team earned victories over St. Charles North, Bolingbrook and Sandburg. Its top performers included senior Luke Selle, who posted 5.5 points on five wins and a draw at Board 8, and junior Matas Carmichael and sophomore Safin Saraiya, who each totaled three wins and a draw for 3.5 points at Board 1 and Board 4, respectively.
In 2018, the IHSA introduced sectional qualifying tournaments to the IHSA State Series and limited the number of entrants for the single-class state finals to 128 teams. Previously, teams qualified through an in-season tournament.
Each team plays four matches in sectional competition, with a win earning one point and a draw earning a half-point. All teams that post at least 1.5 points in IHSA Sectional play – the equivalent of one win and one draw, or three draws – automatically qualify for the state finals, while the remainder of the field is filled through a tiebreaker by teams that earn 1.0 points in sectional competition.
Lemont placed 12th at the IHSA Hinsdale Central Sectional on February 1, splitting four matches to clinch a berth to the 2020 IHSA Chess State Finals. Lemont topped Plainfield North and Fenwick to earn 2.0 points and a state finals berth. The team’s top performer in sectional competition was Selle, who posted three wins and a draw at Board 8.
Lemont enjoyed a terrific season, posting a 10-2 record in conference play and placing second in the South Suburban Conference-Blue Division. Suslek’s teams are 80-4 in SSC Blue play over the last seven seasons. Carmichael, Saraiya and sophomore Sunny Rana each earned All-SSC honors this season.
Lemont has competed at the IHSA Chess State Finals each year since 1998. It has won at least two matches in each of those state finals appearances, and has won four matches on eight different occasions, including 2016, 2017 and 2018. The program’s best finish in the team standings came in 2007 when it placed 40th.
The IHSA eliminated individual awards beginning with the 2018-19 season. However, the program’s best individual finish came in 2003, when Tom Bondi ‘04 placed seventh at Board 7. Seven Lemont players have finished among the top 20 in their respective boards. The program’s top finisher at Board 1 was Bailey Fox ‘15, who placed 18th in 2014 with 5.5 points. Four players (Bondi in 2003; Andrew Knopinski ‘05 at Board 8 in 2003; Brandon Cotten ‘07 at Board 7 in 2005; and Matt McDermott at Board 6 in 2007) have won six state finals matches in one year.