On Saturday, February 15th the Neenah chess team traveled to Marion, WI to compete in the final four rounds of their 2013-14 season at Marion High School. The varsity Red team entered the day with a 1.5 point lead over their host and rival, Marion. The Red team had defeated Marion in the first series of matches early in the season. During the mid-season "quick" tournament in which games are played in half the time for half the points, Marion turned the tables and handed Red their only loss of the season.
Neenah started the day strong by defeating Marion in their final match, winning four boards and drawing one. The Red team clinched the season championship by sweeping their next opponent, but did not ease up. They won their remaining two matches and finished the day 18-1-1 in individual games. For the first time, all five members of the Red team took first place on their individual boards en route to earning their 5th consecutive regular season championship.
Meanwhile, Neenah's varsity White team had their best day of the season, winning all four matches, finishing in 5th place for the season. Neenah's Junior varsity team finished the day in second place behind Waupaca and ended the season in third place due to tiebreakers with Marion, who finished second. Neenah High School will host the Northeastern Wisconsin Chess Association post-season tournament on Saturday, February 22nd.
