CHAMPAIGN — The Uni chess team defeated Notre Dame de LaSalette in a two-round match Thursday night at Parkland College.

The varsity team consists of junior Gordon Ruan (Board 1), senior Alex Zhai (2), senior Geoffrey Beck (3), junior Alan Liang (4), junior Greg Atherton (5), and sophomore Daniel Cheng (6). Notre Dame de LaSalette is a private all-male boarding school located in Georgetown.

Uni won Round 1 with a score of 51-7, with some tough games on boards 2, 5, and 6. Zhai and Atherton’s opponents eventually cracked under pressure, but Cheng’s opponent was able to win in the endgame.

In Round 2, Uni won with a score of 58-0. The only intense game appeared on Board 5, where Atherton went into a complex ending with his opponent and was able to win in the end.

“We haven’t really been challenged that much as a team, but we still need to work on winning all of our games solidly," said Zhai. "And even though our players are able to win in the end, we still make some mistakes in our games.”

In the individual junior varsity matches, junior Brian Wang, junior Jason He, and sophomore Daniel Wilson won their two matches. Wilson is currently ranked first in the individual JV standings.

Uni is now 4-0 in the East Central Illinois Chess League and will play its next match Thursday against Georgetown-Ridge Farm at Georgetown.

MORE PHOTOS: UNI VS. NOTRE DAME DE LASALETTE

Cheng (left) in action against Notre Dame de LaSalette on Board 6. Photo by John Garvey (click to enlarge)

Atherton scans the board. Photo by John Garvey (click for photo album)

Another view of Uni's top boards. Photo by John Garvey (click to enlarge)

Junior Brian Wang won both of his JV games. Photo by John Garvey (click to enlarge)

Beck and Atherton analyze their games afterward. Photo by John Garvey (click for photo album)