Memphis, Tennessee hosted the 2003 National Elementary Chess Championship and drew a record 2397 students from 41 states.  One of the schools participating was Oakhaven Elementary, a Memphis school that not only benefited from "home-field advantage," but also is the beneficiary of a $14,000 donation from World Champion boxer Lennox Lewis, an avid chess enthusiast. In article posted on GoMemphis.com, Lewis was quoted after learning of his team's success:

"I'm very delighted and happy that my team won the national championship," he said. "Just like me, they're the best at what they do. I believe that top athletes should support children and their interests because they are the future."

The tournament format was a 7-round Swiss system with seven sections in all. The scores of the top four players from each school in each section were combined to create a team score.  Oakhaven scored 19½ points for top honors in the K-6 section.

What's more amazing is that this resource-poor school has only had a chess program for 2½ years and beat some of the nation's top programs. The team is  coached by Jeff Bulington (top right), a math teacher at the school and the team is noted on the school's website below. Keep up the great work Oakhaven!!

OakHaven Chess website

Posted by The Chess Drum: 14 May 2003