“Oh, no. You took my rook,” junior Joe Zeller sarcastically remarked as he practiced with junior Seth Ruder Thursday.

The Morton High School library turns to a room of laughter and trash talk when the chess team files in for practice.

It has been four years since a chess team existed at the high school. But, with a new one in place, team members say it just seems like a natural fit.

“I’m no expert, but it’s better to have a team than not,” said chess team coach Lucas Allen.

The current team includes 21 members, a well-rounded number for its first year, Allen said.

“None of them have played competitively in high school,” he said.

That has not prevented the team from having a successful year. Saturday, the team competed in the Illini Classic tournament. Eighteen varsity teams competed in the tournament, many of them slated for top-25 state finishes, Allen said.

“Competition did turn out to be extremely tough,” he said. Morton defeated Georgetown in the first round, but ran into stiff competition, Bradley-Bourbanais, which defeated Morton in the second round.

It was that round, however, that proved to Allen the MHS chess team was prepared to compete with the best.

“Despite the loss, this was probably our best match of the season,” Allen said. “I looked around 90 minutes into the round, and there were only seven games still going on, four of them were Bradley-Bourbanais vs. Morton. This was the one that makes me think our kids can beat a top-25 team when we’re playing well.”

That sort of competition is new to team members.

“I’ve been playing since junior high,” said senior Prashanth Singanallur. “It’s a lot more complex than I imagined in junior high.”

Singanallur often plays chess in his free time against his father and brother.

“I’ve found it to be a great way to relax,” he said.

But, playing competitively is different, he said.

“I don’t like to think of it as competitive,” he laughed. “Then, it’s a lot more stressful. I get a lot more nervous. It’s a big team game.”

The game has proven to be a a fun challenge for the team.

“I do think we are able to (get together) to have a fun, relaxed atmosphere. But, at the same time, our formal practices also contain a lot of instruction and competition. Since we’re all new, we’re sort of making it up as we go,” Allen said. “But, it seems to be an activity where the fun side and the competitive side of extracurricular activities combine well.”

Freshman Ryan Feather has played chess since fifth grade.

“It’s more of a casual thing for me,” Feather said. “It’s pretty fun. We get to come here and hang out with friends.”

For the members, the chess team’s return to the high school has been a bonus.

“I’m so happy this happened my senior year,” Singanallur said.

As much fun as it has been for the students, this year has also shown Allen a lot of promise for future teams.

“I’d like to think we’re setting the stage for some really high level play in the coming years,” Allen said.