Last year, the school chess team played strong against top area schools Gunn, Monta Vista, Lynbrook and Palo Alto, finishing in the top 10 of the online league matches.

Question: What is the school's most dominant team or program?

Among the many possible answers: the girls' tennis team, which won CCS this year and took second in Northern California; the boys' swimming team, which set a national relay record last spring, or the marching band, which ranks near the top of the state in its division. These are all good guesses. But another, lesser known group has set the standard for excellence on campus: the chess team, winner of five straight state championships.

Although four seniors of the chess team graduated last year, the Falcons are still confident of their success this year with the emergence of rising underclassmen.