Douglas County students made history on May 2 at the annual Scholastic Chess Championship. The event, held at Brighten Academy, brought together over 100 chess players from first through 12th grade.
Chess coaches James Lynn from Turner and Tim Savidge from Brighten Academy planned the event. The tournament was the largest since 2018, and the 47 middle schoolers who competed were the most ever. Nineteen schools from across the county were represented, breaking the previous record of 13.
Students played five games over five hours. Those who scored three or more points earned medals, while the top scorers in each division won trophies. The top scorer at each grade level won a gold medal. The top four players from each school made up the teams, with trophies awarded to the top schools.
In the Elementary Division, Annette Winn Elementary School earned its first team trophy by finishing third with 10.5 points. New Manchester Elementary School finished as runner-up with 14 points, and Brighten Academy was the champion with 15 points.
In the Middle School Division, Brighten placed third with 12 points. Turner was runner-up with 14.5 points (1.5 points better than last year, when they won the championship), and Chapel Hill Middle School won the championship with 17 points, a tournament record.
In the High School Division, Douglas County High School won with 17 points, and Lithia Springs High School finished as runner-up with 7.5 points.
Individual champions were fifth-grader Zaiden Luas from Brighten Academy, seventh-grader Jayden Sandova from Yeager Middle School, and ninth-grader Kameron Chapman from Douglas County High School.