Whitefield Middle School and K-3 chess teams competed in the Georgia Chess K-8 State Team Championship on Saturday, March 21. Seventy teams from the state of Georgia were invited to compete in the event, based on their finish in the metro-Atlanta qualifier or their regional championship.
The Whitefield chess program has pursued the elusive state title for many years. The students on this year’s K-3 team put in daily practice to sharpen their skills so that they could “Work Hard, Play Hard, and Honor Him.” Their efforts paid off at the state qualifier in February where they placed first in a field of over 40 schools. The primary team was ranked number one heading into the tournament.
The five-round tournament included 24 teams in the K-3 section. Whitefield won its first match easily with a match score of 5-0, winning on all five boards. In the second round, however, the team suffered a narrow defeat with two wins and three losses. Rebounding well, the players won every game moving forward to accumulate four match points. The team finished with 22 wins in 25 games (four more than any other school), a truly remarkable achievement. Unfortunately, the performance was not enough to recapture first place. Whitefield tied for second place, but due to a stellar overall performance, had the strongest tie-breaks of any team in the field. The all-third grade team included Drew Justice and Efetobo Aror, who each finished with a perfect 5-0 score, and Walker Paxton, Christian Wiggins, and Archer McBride who each came away with four wins.
The Whitefield Middle School team placed sixth in a field of 12 teams with an even score of 2.5 out of 5. Zoe Justice (5th) anchored the team on board one and faced tough top board competition all day but managed two points out of five. Eighth graders Zachary Justice and Caleb Corliss followed on boards two and three, each scoring three points on the day. Jonathan Rhudy (5th) won two games on board four, while Everett Sinclair and Devin Wade (7th) shared the board five positions. Everett put forth a strong performance with two wins and two draws in four rounds, while Devin came in for the last round and secured a win.
Congratulations to the Whitefield chess teams for their hard work and success!