The hard work of Orcas Island’s teen chess players has paid off.

During the first regional chess championship, Orcas High School sophomore Lamai Hons earned grand champion, and the OIHS chess team came in first, qualifying for the state championship.

“They have a passion for the game,” said English teacher Maurice Austin, who oversees the chess club. “In a classroom, it’s much less about competition than it is about camaraderie. It’s not cutthroat.”

This fall, 15-year-old Hons asked Austin to create an Associated Student Body club for chess. He was joined by fellow students Orion Johns, Colter Bond and Max Vollmer and home-school student Thurmond Russell.

“I haven’t done much other than order in some square sheets and timers,” laughed Austin. “I haven’t taught them anything! If anything, I am learning from Lamai. I hope this will encourage more students to join.”

Hons learned to play the game at age 6 and ramped up his interest over the past few years.

“I have always thought that chess is such an interesting game, and I am also a pretty competitive person,” he said. “It was only a couple of years ago when I realized that I could actually learn how to become better at chess. I dived deep into the world of chess —mainly online, until I started wanting to play against real opponents and experience meeting new people who also enjoy playing. I started a library group, along with a school group — mostly just my friends — and we decided to aim for state tournaments after hearing a recommendation from our teacher, Mr. Austin.”

Anacortes High School hosted the inaugural San Juan/Islands/Skagit Regional Chess Championship on Jan. 11. It was the first state-qualifying chess event in this region. Around 35 students participated, with separate competitions for middle and high school students. Hugo Thompson of Spring Street International School earned Middle School Grand Champion.

The tournament was organized by the Washington High School Chess Association and directed by its president, Randy Kaech, a seasoned chess coach and tournament director from Whatcom County. Kaech engaged participants with trivia and prizes before each round. The state competition is Feb. 28 to March 1 in Stanwood.

“I have a lot of confidence in our team. We achieved almost a perfect score at regionals against other players,” Hons said. “But I do know that there will be people who are much better than all of us. I think that we definitely have a shot, but we will have to practice.”

Hons is also an accomplished violin player. Orcas School strings teacher Pamela Wright nominated him to perform in the Honors String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Honors Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall in London through the Honors Performance Series. Out of thousands of applications, he was accepted and performed in 2024.

“Lamai is quite a phenomenon,” Austin said.