A predominantly Black Detroit high school’s chess team took first place at the 2023 National Chess Championship in the K-12 Under 800 division, WXYZ reported.
The four-day competition happened in Washington, D.C., where the Renaissance High School chess team faced some of the most formidable competitors, eventually becoming the national champions in their category.
Some of the schools they competed against were Northwest High School in Maryland (second place), Crossroads College Prep in Missouri (third place) and Edward R. Murrow High School in New York (fourth place).
Jeremiah Young-Walker, the Under 800 section’s head chair who placed eighth in the Under 800 category for prize winners, explained how it felt for his team.
“It was very exhilarating to get to that seventh game,” Young-Walker said.
Knowing how challenging the competition would be, Renaissance High School teacher Kevin Smith said the students worked hard in the days leading up to the big match.
“At lunch time, they’ll be in my classroom playing. After school they’ll be there,” Smith said.
The competition started at 9 a.m.; some games lasted over 12 hours, while some lasted minutes or only a few hours. The entire four days, the Renaissance high school chess team members had their brains operating all day.
“It was an all-day kind of thing for them where they’re kind of grinding it out, working hard, their brains are going all day long,” Smith said.
Winning the competition meant a lot to each team member, especially since they’re enrolled in a school where about 99% of the student body is Black, 0.4% is Hispanic, 0.4% is Asian and 0.2% is white.
“I think it means shedding llight on the children of Detroit in all honesty,” senior Opemipo Clement said. “Showing that although we come from a relatively poor city that there’s still hope, there’s still a future within the kids of Detroit.”
