The Crisp County High School Chess Club had their first tournament at Starbucks in Cordele. The Chess Club is coached by Dr. Rob Bailey, a science teacher at Crisp County High School, who has “about a dozen very good players.” He started the Chess Club this school year and has been excited about the turnout.
Seven players from the Chess Club showed up to compete at 9 am Saturday morning, November 5th. The Club competed in a single-elimination fashion. There were even two elementary school students present who competed in the tournament.
The fourth round of play pitted Dallas Howell against Nixon Holloway. Dallas emerged victorious and both received gift certificates from local restaurants donated by Bailey.
One of the guests was Dr. John Lejeune from GSW. Lejeune had previously worked with Bailey in organizing and developing a chess club. Lejeune donated a gift certificate which was awarded to Grayson Whitworth who won a competition amongst the players who dropped out in the first round.
The players who competed were (l-r) Grayson Whitworth, Nixon Holloway, Marvin Anderson, Heer Raste, Dallas, Howell, Dr. Bailey, Alejandro Santiago-Ortiz, Aashi Patel, and Parth Patel.
Bailey is looking forward to more events and tournaments. “We are very pleased with the turnout and the gracious spirit from Starbucks. They were very receptive to the idea and we hope to play there again soon.”
