Since 1983, the Argonne National Laboratory chess team hasn’t lost a game in regular season play.
“We’ve had some draws,” said David Baurac, team captain, “and we lose some games in the playoffs, but that is where you have the cream of the crop.”
The Argonne team is one of 28 that make up the Chicago Industrial Chess League.
In addition to businesses, the league includes teams from government agencies, such as the Chicago Transit Authority, and college teams, such as Columbia College.
In 1957, Miroslav Mejzr of the First National Bank in Chicago invited known commercial teams to consider forming a league. Six teams joined the first year, and First National Bank won the championship.
The six best players from each corporate team play in competition with other teams in the league within their divisions, which are set up geographically.
The top two company teams in each of the four divisions enter the playoffs, according to Jim Hodina of Amoco Oil in Chicago, president of the league.
Each team pays yearly dues of $65, with some companies picking up the cost for their players. When the season ends in May, a banquet is held at which trophies are awarded.
Last year, the Motorola team from Schaumburg won the league championship; in 1991, Argonne held the title, beating Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia.
