Atkins Senior Wins State Championship in Chess

By Scott Plaster

Atkins Academic & Technology High School

Atkins HS chess player Senior William Odom had set his sights on being the best player on his team, and in doing so, achieved a milestone ahead of that, as the best scholastic player in the state. He won the individual state championship at the February 23-35, 2018 state scholastic tournament held in Charlotte, with four points (out of five), and the tournament resulting in a four-way tie for first. Odom also won fourth in the Friday night Blitz tournament, with one of his wins coming against National Master Emmanuel Carter (2284).

With an amazing team effort from William Odom (1738), Ali Mirzazadeh (1643), Daniel Winkelman (1580), and Arel D’Agostino (1361), the Championship Division team over-achieved and earned third place honors against certified National Masters (over 2200 rating) and Experts (over 2000 rating).

The U1500 Division team earned fourth place honors and proved that the future is bright for the Camels. Jauss Manta (710), Arun Somasundaram (851), Nathaniel Smallwood (831), Elizabeth “Lizzie” Young (743), Evan Doran (271), and Ethan Greenhalgh (655) were the top performers.

These finishes continue the powerhouse performance by Atkins, who won the state championship in the U1500 division last year, with the top three players in the section. This year, Atkins also had the most players of any other high school at the tournament, with 27. With such numbers, Atkins is the only school in the state to travel to regional and state tournaments in an activity bus.  

The story of state champion William Odom is an inspiring one. He began competitive chess only when he came to Atkins, when many top players begin playing as small children. It was when he was a sophomore that he began taking chess more seriously and developing quickly as a player (as seen in the chart). Odom even dropped playing card games like Pokemon and Magic:The Gathering when he realized success was based on random chance, while chess was a pure sport of strategy, tactics, and, both mental and physical endurance.

Odom was a score contributing player on the state championship team last year, finishing second overall in the division. At Supernationals, Odom finished 6th in the entire nation in his division. But that hadn’t yet achieved his goal as a player.

Odom’s coach Scott Plaster said, “I’ve never seen a player so devoted to chess. William’s victory proves that hard work really does pay off.” He also praised Odom’s father, Matt Odom, who often accompanies William to tournaments and sometimes even also plays in them. “The support and guidance that William’s dad gives him is incredible. In some ways, it’s similar to being an Olympic athlete. Every facet of the training is accounted for, from sleep to diet to the training plan. But what makes Matt such a great ‘chess dad’ is that he helps William in such a loving, understanding way.”

Odom’s growth and strength in chess has been meteoric. His rating of over 1800 was only around 600 as a freshman, and has increased more than 500 points in his senior year alone. As Odom puts it, “It’s not the actual winning of my games that made me tie for first, but the extreme training I put myself through in the days before.”

Similar to the training of other premier athletes, Odom’s training is comprehensive and rigorous, spending at least four hours per day or more in training. The regimen includes watching chess videos on master games, doing tactics, studying openings, and/or simply playing a game. He even adopts a specialized diet during training and on competition days, and maintains optimal physical fitness. With chess, wrestling and lacrosse, Odom is a multi-sport athlete, along with being a member of the Atkins marching band.   

“My advice for other Atkins chess players is to simply have a goal in mind if you want to take chess seriously and play in tournaments,” said Odom. “Playing in tournaments without a goal is like playing chess without a plan. Eventually you’re going to lose because you’re aimlessly moving about.”

“Will is a great role model and tries to help the other players improve, too,” said freshman teammate William Blakely. Along with three other seniors, William has led the structured teaching curriculum at the Atkins chess team practices. “At a competitive level like with our team, and players like William, the game definitely is elevated to the level of a sport,” said Coach Plaster. At tournaments such as the Supernationals the team attended last year, players played four games (each lasting as long as four hours) in a single day, which meant players were playing from 8 in the morning to after 8 at night. “With most sports, you go, play for a few hours, and then go home,” said Plaster. At Supernationals last year, Odom played 7 rounds. g120/d5, plus the Blitz tournament, with a total of 26 hours of chess in three days.

The Atkins team will even be featured in a documentary film project produced by a student at Wake Forest University that compares a sports team to the chess team at Atkins. Chess has been an Olympic sport before, and is being considered for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, and is recognized as a sport in over 100 (and rising) countries.

   

“William hit a tough spot earlier in the year, and I could tell it really bothered him, but you could also see his determination kick in,” said Coach Plaster. “William is an inspiration to all of the Atkins players, and to us all.” On the heels of his victory, Odom was voted by the Atkins faculty as its newest Student of the Month.

Odom’s goal is to become an “Expert” level of player with a 2000+ rating, stay involved in chess, and become known in the chess community.