Lemont chess team experiences program best at state finals

For the third consecutive year, head coach Ken Suslek’s chess team at Lemont High School established a new program best in the state finals competition.

Lemont placed 15th at the 2024 IHSA chess state finals, which were contested at the Peoria Civic Center on Feb. 9 and 10.

Lemont has advanced to the IHSA state finals 27 straight years, and has won multiple state finals contests each of those seasons. After having never done so prior to 2022, Lemont won five state finals matches in one season for the third straight year, knocking off Maine South (61-7), Kaneland (62-6), Wheaton North (58-10), Elgin (44-24) and Glenbard West (45.5-22.5).

Its losses came at the hands of eventual state champion Stevenson (49-19) and Hinsdale Central (45-23).

Lemont, which has advanced to the state finals each season since 1998, improved upon its 19th-place finish in 2023, and was fourth among all Class 3A teams at the state finals.

Senior Owen Geraghty became the first player in school history to win seven state finals matches in one season, doing so at board 4. He was one of only eight players out of more than 1,000 at the event to score 7.0 points.

Four players ended the state finals with 5.0 points each. They included junior Vikram Oberai (four wins, two draws) at board 1, senior Danny Drobnic (five wins) at board 5, junior Preston Gierman (five wins) at board 7, and junior Alex Lazarowicz (five wins) at board 8.

Juniors Adi Oberai (three wins, one draw) and Anisha Oberai (two wins, three draws) finished with 3.5 points at boards 2 and 3, respectively, while senior Rehan Saraiya (three wins) had 3.0 points at Board 6. Lemont advanced to the state finals after winning three matches at the IHSA Glenbard East Sectional, topping Glenbard North (68-0), Hoffman Estates (62-6) and Hinsdale South (49-19) before falling in the championship match to Naperville Central (48-20).

Gierman won all four of his sectional matches, while Anisha Oberai had three wins and a draw. Lemont dominated the South Suburban Conference-Blue Division, posting a 12-0 record in conference matches.

Suslek’s teams are 127-5 in SSC Blue play over the last 11 seasons. Geraghty, Adi Oberai, Anisha Oberai and Vikram Oberai each earned All-SSC honors this season as Lemont capped the year with a 31-4 record in dual matches.