Talia AlbertsThe Daily Northwestern

As the Northwestern women’s lacrosse team marches toward its third straight national title, another campus team has a reason to celebrate victory.

The NU chess team, part of the 64 Squares Chess Club, went undefeated during last week’s Chicago Industrial Chess League playoffs to be named a league co-champion.

NU’s group is the only college team in the league, competing mainly against corporate teams, such as the Motorola Knights and the Walgreen’s Chess Club, said Weinberg junior Steve Gorodetskiy, the team’s captain.

NU’s chess team has between 10 and 12 players throughout the year and is the only competitive chess team on campus. The team is in its third season of competition in the Chicago Industrial Chess League.

League play begins in mid-September and continues through April, with the championship held in May. During matches, the top six players on each team face off against players with corresponding rankings on an opposing team.

This was the first year the NU team made it to the playoff tournament.

Another highlight of the season, according to Gorodetskiy, was placing 11th in December’s Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship.

McCormick sophomore Jim Smallwood, 64 Squares’ incoming president, said playing as a team alters the way players approach the game.

“When you play individually, you’re only playing for yourself,” Smallwood said. “As a team, you have to win the majority of the games, so even if normally you would take a draw, you need to be more risky and play for a win so your team has the chance to get more points. The overall score has a big impact on how you play the game.”