Camperdown claim sixth schools chess title
DEFENDING champions Camperdown High secured their sixth National Schools Chess Championship title with a convincing 3.5 to 0.5 points victory over Rural Area champions St Catherine High in the all-island final at Campion College last Saturday.
Camperdown took an early 2-0 lead in the match after Tewana Mellace and Creg Johnson easily dispatched Nathan Hinds and Kyle Doctor on Boards 3 and 4, respectively.
It was left up to St Catherine’s Omar Forrest on Board 1 and Oshane Bailey on Board 2 to try to salvage the match. But Camperdown would have none of it and Dayvian Grant on Board 1 quickly sealed the issue by outwitting Forrest in a tight end-game position, as both players scrambled to queen a pawn.
With Camperdown 3-0 up, attention turned to Board 2 where St Catherine’s Bailey was trying to convert a winning position against Camperdown captain O’Shane Reid to prevent a repeat of the 4-0 whitewash St Catherine received when the two teams met in the final last year.
Bailey came close to converting on numerous occasions, but lacked experience and eventually the game petered out into a tame draw.
In what almost seemed like deja vu, Camperdown copped most of the awards, including the National Championship Trophy, Best Corporate Area Team, Best Board 1, Best Board 3, Best Board 4 and Most Valuable Player in Tewana Mellace.
St Catherine took home the runners-up trophy and the Rural Area award, while Glenmuir’s Roggae Lewis was adjudged the best Board 2 player. Wolmer’s Girls copped the best female team award.