Head to head with his own teammate, freshman Luke Schroeder faced familiar competition in the final round of the district chess competition. 

He didn’t hold back.

Schroeder defeated teammate Devin Zook in the final round, and emerged victorious. 

“I never thought I would be going up against someone from my home team,” Schroeder said.

Zook and Schroeder are part of the chess team that also took first place at the Comal ISD’s second chess tournament of the 2022-2023 school year Nov. 12 at Davenport High School. Teacher Shane Hubbard coaches the team, which also includes Jacob Diaz, Nathaniel Lopez and Ethan Zook.

Devin Zook was composed and went through the competition with ease.

“At first I was a little surprised, but knowing the competition, I knew we would get to the finals,” Zook said.

Although they had no trouble,  Schroeder had a close encounter with an opponent in the fourth round, which almost cost him the game. 

“I plundered a piece and thankfully my opponent didn’t see the opening,’’ Schroeder said. 

With both of them making it to the finals, they wished each other the best of luck.

“With our final game, we both took it seriously,” Zook said. 

Schroeder started playing chess in the fifth grade. He caught on quickly and started to play online chess with his friends and other opponents to get better. Years later, he’s district champion. 

“I found it really appealing because there is so much strategy involved,” he said, “and you have to be really locked in to the game.”