DURHAM BOY AGE 5 WINS US NATIONAL CHESS TITLE
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Pete Crowley of Durham has achieved an extraordinary accomplishment, chess is extremely competitive at the national level and he won the 2010 Kindergarten Chess Champion section. The US National Chess Championship event was held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida in December of 2010. During the event Pete defeated the number 1 seed kindergarten player in the nation which was very challenging and thrilling.
Pete is just 5 years old and is a Kindergarten student. Pete attends classes at Durham Academy and is part of the chess program at the school. His classroom teacher is Sheppy Vann. Chess Master Craig Jones at Durham Academy coaches Pete.
“Pete is an exceptional child,” says Jones. Pete’s first major competition was as a 4 year old Pre-K student in the K-1 Section (Kindergarten to 1st graders only) at the 2010 Spring Nationals scoring 4.5 points out of 7 possible game points which was remarkable. Performing at that level as a 4 year old is almost unheard of.
Pete loves chess and has a fantastic memory for learning famous games. Pete is always asking “which game will we learn today Mr. Jones”? Pete loves playing and practicing and this gives him a big advantage on most children. In lessons, he studies tactical problems, openings, endings, middle game analysis and pawn structures. Pete has a wonderful attitude and focused attention to what is important on the board. Pete loves teaching other children his own age who are new to chess and has amazing patience in doing so. “I don’t recall ever seeing a child this young so concerned about helping others to learn; his interest in others is very special and wonderful,” said Coach Jones. Pete has mentioned many times that his sister, Asia, 1st grader at Durham Academy, taught him to play.
Coach Jones’ favorite Pete Crowley quote came during a lesson one day when Pete mentioned he wanted to show Jones a game he had played recently. Jones said “Ok let me look up the game details online so that we can review the moves played,” and Pete said “that won’t be necessary,” meaning he knew the game in his head and did not need the aid of the score sheet (written down moves of the game) to show it back to Coach Jones.
The next major event for Pete comes February 18-20, 2011. He plans to attend the 2011 NC K-12 and Collegiate Chess Championship hosted by Chess Achieves at the Raleigh Convention Center. He is working hard to continue his success into the New Year. The State Championship is an annual state wide event for players of all ages and ability levels. The event celebrates the importance of education and practicing to improve at anything.
What’s his rating?