Following a season in which they finished third place in the Bay Area, the Falcon chess team is looking forward to how it can keep its strong program in good shape. With seniors Evan Ye, Brian Wai and Sankash Shankar departing, maintaining their success will be difficult.

“Not to be vain, prideful, or insulting, the key players are the seniors with all of their experience,” club president Evan Ye said. “But for next year, I’m expecting this new wave of highly motivated freshmen to continue the team.”

The team is focused on training new members and honing new tactics and skills that can be used in competition play.

Upperclassmen are mentoring incoming freshmen introducing new plays and playing practice matches to get players into the tournament environment.

Hoping to take place as club president and team captain is junior Kevin Garbe, who has played alongside Ye, Wai and Shankar at Redwood Middle School and Argonaut Elementary.

Ye also said some freshmen show great promise. Freshman Morteza Rohaninejad, Faisal Albanai and Boyu Pang show great passion, enthusiasm and talent for the board game.

“In terms of player strength, we have gained a lot compared to last year. We’ve only lost one graduating senior, Amol Aggarwal, but gained a handful of dedicated, talented freshmen,” Ye said. “They’ve helped us in the Silicon Valley League, pushing us to victories in critical matches such as Cupertino.”

The team will have some tough times ahead, no doubt, but with great confidence and enthusiasm, the hopeful freshmen are capable of leading many more seasons to come.