NSCL Conference

Niles North attended the conference playoffs this past Friday, February 2nd, and competed with three other teams: Stevenson, Carmel, and Maine South. The Vikings had a convincing win over Stevenson first round (64-4) whilst Maine South beat Carmel (44-24) in a close match. Thus, the Vikings, defending the state title, would play Maine South in the championship match. Ilan Meerovich and Igor Fortel won on boards 1 and 6, respectively, but Maine South won on boards 5, 7, and 8. Ben Rothshild, who was winning in his game, managed to let his opponent sneak away with a draw on board 2. With roughly 10 accumlative minutes left in the match, Joseph Liu, board 3, and Mike Thariath, board 4 were still playing their games. The score was 24.5 - 24.5, and Michael Thariath was in a completely drawn position whilst Joseph Liu was losing in his game. After the draw was established on board 4, the score was 29 - 29. With minutes remaining on the time control of both players on board 3, Joseph Liu made a remarkable comeback and even had winning chances, however, because of the time control, a draw was established. With the tournament match tied 34-34 at the end, a blitz sudden death was initiated to determine the clear winner. After some even more intense moments, Joseph Liu, on board 3 with the last game going on, called time on his opponent, and Niles North won the match 35 - 33. Congratulations to all who participated in the traditional playoff match, and the state tournament this weekend will be quite interesting with close matches like these!

Results
Round 1
Niles North Stevenson
Board 1 12 0
Board 2 11 0
Board 3 10 0
Board 4 9 0
Board 5 4 4
Board 6 7 0
Board 7 6 0
Board 8 5 0
Total 64 4

Results
Round 2
Niles North Maine South
Board 1 12 0
Board 2 5.5 5.5
Board 3 5 5
Board 4 4.5 4.5
Board 5 0 8
Board 6 7 0
Board 7 0 6
Board 8 0 5
Total 34 34

Results
Tiebreak Blitz off
Niles North Maine South
Board 1 0 12
Board 2 11 0
Board 3 10 0
Board 4 0 9
Board 5 8 0
Board 6 7 0
Board 7 0 6
Board 8 0 5
Total 35 33

->to be edited soon // more details