Northwestern’s chess club, 64 Squares, held its first Midwest Intercollegiate Chess Tournament on Saturday. Students from the University of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago and Indiana University attended; each school had a team of six players.

“Our original idea was to have a Big Ten chess tournament, but then we decided to open it up to other colleges as well,” 64 Squares president Jim Smallwood said.

Each of the four teams played the other three once.

NU came in first place, with Indiana University taking second and the University of Chicago and Loyola tied for third place.

“We are without a doubt one of the strongest teams in the Midwest,” said Smallwood, a McCormick junior.

64 Squares sends teams to compete in regional tournaments, such as the Chicago Industrial Chess League, which it won last year. The club also has won first place in its division in the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship for the past two years.

Along with competing, the team hosts an exhibition every year, bringing in grandmasters and other high-ranking players to play against multiple students at once.

The club plans to expand the spring event next year, Smallwood said.

“We came up with this idea on a whim and just kind of went with it,” he said. “Next year, we’re going to start much earlier and try to contact these colleges earlier as well.”