A year after becoming 2013 K-1 National Co-Champion, second grader Drew Justice once again represented Whitefield Academy at the National Elementary Chess Championships, held in Dallas over the weekend of May 9 -11. Competing in the stronger K-3 championship division this year, Drew was seeded 50th out of 269 players. He turned in another remarkable performance, finishing in a tie for seventh place and taking 15th place overall on tiebreaks. Drew scored 5.5 points in the seven round tournament, with his only loss coming against a fellow national team member, who was K-1 National Co-Champion in 2012. Drew ended the competition as the fifth highest second grader in the division!
In addition to his clutch win against a much higher-rated opponent in the final round, Drew played for close to four hours in his opening match! Congratulations to Drew on an impressive display of grace under pressure!