Long ride home

Cheboygan, Mich. –

There is a tradition of chess excellence at Cheboygan High School, and for good reason. Over the last six years, the Cheboygan High School Chess Team had accumlated six trophies at the Michigan Chess Association high school team tournaments. Unfortunately, the string of trophies came to an end on Saturday at Flint’s Kettering University.

In round 1, the Cheboygan team was paired against last year’s champion, Detroit Cass Tech. In a tight battle, Cheboygan lost the first round by a score of 1.5 to 2.5. This was a tough way to start the tournament, but Cheboygan knew that it could still place among the top teams, if it could win their next three matches.

In round 2, Cheboygan easily defeated Byron High School by a score of 3 to 1. In round 3, Cheboygan had no difficulty disposing of Flint Powers, with a score of 3.5 to 0.5.

It came down to the fourth and final round. Cheboygan was paired against Detroit Mumford High School, led by the highest rated high school chess player in the state of Michigan, James Canty. Finn played a great game, but he and his teammates came up short, losing 1 to 3.

At the end of the day Cheboygan had accumulated two match points and nine board points, not enough to earn a trophy at this state tournament.

Here is the full article.

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar