Queen of Kings

Only a handful of seconds are left on the timer, but senior Ellen Xiang remains cool and collected. Her opponent quickly advances one of his pieces and hits the clock with a confident “smack!” Suddenly, in a calm and deliberate movement, Xiang shifts her queen over a square and extends her hand outward to shake her opponent’s hand. “Check mate,” she says.Xiang is one serious chess player. She is classified as a “candidate master” by the World Chess Federation. In the United States, she is ranked in the top one percent of female players and top four percent overall.But Xiang was not always this good at chess. When she first started playing in kindergarten, she struggled to win games. She attended a weekly program during school as well as an after-school chess club.When asked about why she continued learning, Xiang could not help but laugh. “The way I remember it, it was two things,” she said. “One: chess clubs had good snacks. Two: I lost to the guys a lot, and I wanted to beat them.”In front of the eight by eight chess board, Xiang is a quiet but powerful player. She takes her time to analyze each position and never seems rushed. She does not flinch when her opponent makes a strong move and even when running low on time, she presses the clock with a unique mix of elegance and resolution.Here at Exeter, Xiang is one of the three co-heads of Chess Club. Her prep year, she was drawn to the sense of community of the club and felt like she was “inside the club, and fully included in the club.”Her sister, lower Evan Xiang, commented on the elder Xiang’s commitment to the game. “She even took an entire week off from her upper winter to fly all the way to Abu Dhabi to play in a world-class tournament,” she said. “Even with the enormous amount of upper year homework stress and usual chess stress, she managed to pull off a pretty amazing result by finishing as the top American girl in her section.”“Honestly, chess has been so ingrained into her life for so long, it has become a crucial part of her, and I don't think there's anything anyone can ever say to make her give the game up,” the younger Xiang added.

“Honestly, chess has been so ingrained into her life for so long, it has become a crucial part of her, and I don't think there's anything anyone can ever say to make her give the game up”

Ellen Xiang also runs ESSO chess, a club that teaches children from the town of Exeter how to use effective tactics and strategies to win their games.When Xiang first joined as a prep, the club was held in a nearby small public library with only seven to ten participants,  mostly faculty children. Last year, under her leadership, ESSO chess was reorganized and moved onto campus.This year it is a different story— attendance has skyrocketed. ESSO chess is now one of the biggest ESSO clubs on campus with more than 20 children.Anyone who has taught children knows that they are not always perfect angels. “[They are] sometimes too energetic,” Xiang said.  Sometimes Xiang struggled to find the balance between keeping them interested while still teaching them. She said, "You can’t lecture them, but also if you let them [be], they will build towers of chess pieces and run around screaming.”Upper Joe Bartkovich, another co-head, praised Xiang’s ability to work well with others.“Working together with Ellen as the co-heads of ESSO Chess has been a great experience,” he said. “She’s made a conscious effort to include me in the decisions that are made about the club, rather than making all the calls herself. Working with Ellen feels like we’re on a team together, not opposing each other.”Another ESSO club that Xiang participates in is Tutoring For Children. Xiang sets aside a few hours a week to tutor two kids, one in academic subjects and the other in chess. She described each of these kids as extremely smart; both are excellent at retaining their memories.“I would go over a game with Finn and then a year later he would remember it. He would say, ‘Oh yeah, we went over this game!’ He found different positions I had never seen before. He would say, ‘And then you go there and there and there!’”Xiang is also one of three Editors-in-Chief of the Academy’s yearbook, PEAN. However, when she first came to Exeter, she was not expecting to get involved in the publication.During her prep year, an upperclassman in Xiang’s dorm approached her and convinced her to join. “Her passion for PEAN struck me,” Xiang said. “When she talked about it, her eyes seemed to shine.” Xiang did not like the experience at first, but slowly learned to love it over the next few months. She served as an advertisement associate for her first year, and transferred over to layout editing for the next two.Xiang’s favorite part about PEAN is leaving a mark on the school’s history.“The people in PEAN are some of the nicest, most dedicated and hardest working I know, devoting hours upon hours to the completion of this book of memories that most people take for granted,” she said. “Still, there's a sense of accomplishment, of ownership and pride, that comes with seeing your work in print and on the pages distributed to hundreds and likely to survive decades.”Senior Janet Chen, one of the other EICs, praised Xiang’s work ethic. “Ellen is diligent, efficient and creative,” she said. “As an editor, she is always considerate of the needs of her peers, and shapes her actions accordingly. Though she excels in many different areas of life, Ellen always stays humble and level-headed.”Last November, Xiang was elected to the Early Cum Laude Society. Every year, 15 seniors are inducted into the Cum Laude society, honoring their dedication and achievement in academics.Math instructor Joseph Wolfson, spoke on Xiang as a student when he taught her.“Ellen was a quiet leader in our class, always prepared to show us how she solved especially complicated problems. She never showed off but simply did her work,” Wolfson said.Xiang’s adviser and classical languages instructor, Nicholas Unger, had similar thoughts. “In the classroom too, she is the opposite of the Harkness warrior; instead of blowing a lot of hot air, she carefully chooses the moment to make a comment that has maximal impact.”Her neighbor and friend, upper Jessica Zhao, appreciates her as a student and the help she gets from her.“She’s also very helpful whenever anyone has a problem and is always very patient. I can tell that every time I go to her for help, she’s actually trying very hard to help me.”Senior Margaret Zhu, a close friend of Xiang and co-head of chess club, summed up Xiang's experience at Exeter. “I am so proud of her and who she has become. We have had a wonderful Exeter journey together, and I can't wait for what's next. She’s one of my best friends. I know she’ll always be there for me, and I'll always be there for her.”