St Stephen’s Chess Team qualify for State Finals
Sudhanshu Pathania, Thomas Gargan, Hunter Liebold and Steven Harnischfeger.
Four students from St Stephen’s Catholic College have qualified for the state finals of the Gardiner Interschool Chess Competition. After finishing in 2nd place in Premier Division, behind defending champions, St Mary’s from Cairns, St Stephen’s 1 team will travel to Brisbane next month to contest at state level. The team consisting of Tom Gargan, Steven Harnischfeger, Sudhanshu Pathania and Hunter Liebold narrowly missed out by 2.5 points on taking home the trophy but clinched a spot by finishing 3 points clear of Mareeba State High who finished in 3rd place.
SSCC Chess coordinator, Mr Chris Ellison, said the students’ effort and determination paid off. “This is the first time that a St Stephen’s team has received an invitation to the state finals,” he said.
“This is an excellent result for a team which has shown a lot of potential in past competitions.”
Team Captain, Tom Gargan, who has been playing Chess for seven years, said he is looking forward to competing in Brisbane. “It will be a challenging yet rewarding experience for us,” he said.
