Duffield Elementary wins national championship at the Scholastic Chess Tournament

Friday, May 26, 2006

Duffield Elementary School’s chess team won first place in both the elementary and junior high categories at the recently concluded National Scholastic Chess Tournament.

The tournament, which involved students from different schools around the nation,  teaches the importance of competition as well as strategy.

This is the second consecutive year Duffield has qualified for the national championships. A total of fifty-two students, most of whom had little or no experience with chess before this school year, represented Duffield, which proceeded to sweep the K-6 division. Duffield finished first in the nation in the Unrated Section for the second straight year, tied for second place in the Under 1000 Section, and finished third in the Blitz (Speed) Section. The Middle School Team placed second overall, and finished third in the K-9 Unrated Section.

Kayeen Kemp won first place in the unrated division of the K-9 individual category. Sherman Redden Jr., Byron Green, and Aaron Martin secured spots in the nation’s top 25.

Jamonte Adams finished seventh in the Under 1000 section of the K-6 individual category, while Christopher Townsend came in seventh in the Unrated Section.  Joseph Brunson, Joseph Hebert, Anthony Thompson, Raneisha Johnson, and Derik Smith also finished among the top elementary chess players in the nation.

\\”The chess team, coaches, and parents have worked diligently this past year, and their efforts have paid off handsomely,\\” said Donna Nesbitt, principal of Duffield.

Detroit Duffield Chess Team ranks first and second in the state for the middle school and elementary school divisions.