Poly Wins National Chess Championship

Poly won the national chess championship in Columbus, Ohio. CLICK ON THE HEADLINE FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

On April 16-18, 2010 The United States Chess Federation hosted the 2010 High School Championship at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. On April 15, Poly’s Chess Club- Chess Coach and Chemistry teacher Mr. Borah; Seniors, Richard Campbell, Brandon Cosby, Calvin Croxton, Jeremy Duckett, William Griffin, Micheal Osikomaiya, and Junior, Karon Harvell- went to compete against 134 other players from 32 teams from 21 states across the nation in the K-12 Unrated Division. After the seventh and final on April 18 Baltimore Polytechnic Institute was crowned the K-12 Unrated Chess Champion of the nation.

With an impressive undefeated record of 5-0-2, Poly’s top scorer Calvin Croxton placed fourth individually in the nation. “There was only pressure during the first match, but after that I played at ease,” Calvin said. Top scorers William Griffin and Jeremy Duckett finished with 6-0-1 records and individually got sixth and seventh place respectively. “In reality Calvin, Jeremy, and I all had the same amount of points as third place, but we were lowered because of tiebreaks, but I am still happy because I know I did very well and I got third place in the blitz tournament they had” William said.

The Chess Club with five trophies, five plaques, and seven medals in hand returned to Poly with a warm welcome. “I was really excited and proud of the guys. What was really impressive is that we won against the tougher schools,” Chess Coach Mr. Borah said. “The trip was pretty awesome. Playing on that scale was cool and it’s kind of sad that I’m a senior and this will be the last time I will be playing for Poly,” Micheal recollects. On April 27, 2010 Poly’s Chess Club competed and placed first in the Baltimore Kids Chess League High School City Championship to continue to display Poly Pride. Champions Calvin, William, Jeremy, and Karon all tied for first place individually and received trophies. Congratulations and keep up the good work Chess Club!