Lakeside edges Garfield for state chess championship

Lakeside High School's sixth straight win in the Washington State High School Chess Championships came down to a tense fourth round against Garfield High School.

The thin victory was a change from last year, when Lakeside dominated the tournament to win with the highest score in state history.

This year, the team's five players were trailing by a half-point going into the second-to-last round. They beat Garfield three games to two and sealed the victory.

"We pulled out a couple of games we could have lost," said Lakeside coach Bob Ferguson, a nationally rated chessmaster and Metropolitan King County Council member. Some of it was luck, but his players were "very resourceful," Ferguson said.

Competitors in the two-day tournament in Yakima played six to nine hours of chess each day. The games are timed to last no more than three hours, and players earn one point for a win, a half-point for a draw and no points for a loss. There are five rounds.

Lakeside's team was led by twin brothers David and Ben Wyde, both sophomores and returning members of the Seattle school's team. Marcel Knudsen also returned to the team this year. Ben Bishop and Michael Spillane were new to the varsity team.

There were 32 teams in the tournament this year. Mercer Island High School took third place, and Seattle Prep came in fourth.

Emily Heffter: 425-783-0624 or eheffter@seattletimes.com