FAMU Chess Club holds Interest Meeting, First Tournament!
The FAMU Chess Club held its first tournament as an official organization in more than 20 years. After a successful showing at the FAMU Club Fair on January 31st, the group held its interest meeting on February 21st. These events gave the FAMU Chess Club visibility, and so far, the group has attracted more than 90 members in GroupMe with over 20 registered members.
Interest Meeting
The interest meeting was held in the Commons, which is right off of the main artery of student traffic. Approximately 12 students came and the board members opened the meeting.
FAMU Chess Club 2024-2025 Executive Board
Seated (L-R): Toron Jones (Treasurer, Music Education), Caleb Parker (President-Computer Info. Sys.)
Standing (L-R): James Tinner (Secretary, Computer Info. Sys), Dr. Daaim Shabazz (Faculty Advisor-Business), Ricardo Stewart (Vice President-Architecture)
After the agenda was shown, there was an icebreaker featuring a chess personality quiz, and students got a chance to introduce themselves. A wide variety of majors and skill levels were represented. Some students had not played in many years and were rekindling their interest.
After the PowerPoint presentation highlighting the purpose and plans for the Spring semester, it was time for play chess! Besides students making new friends, there were some learning sessions as Valiant Payne was learning chess for the first time.
Frantzley Moise (co-advisor) showing Valiant Payne and Christopher Shaw some pointers while Caleb Parker looks on.
Meanwhile there were other students battling…
Some of the students attending the interest meeting were: Spencer Allen, Henry Ausby, Murphy Cintron, Tristen Davis, Amara Fisher, Valiant Payne, Ja’Zara Richardson, Caleb Riley, Christopher Shaw, Jeremiah Washington, and Royalty Williams.
Spring Tournament
The chess club announced its first tournament on iStrike, the FAMU portal for student activities, and through its social media circles. This would be the club’s first tournament in over twenty years, and there was optimism that it would be a success. The morning of the event, President Caleb Parker arrived at the Commons building to find the door locked.
Dr. Shabazz, called the Police Department and Physical Plant to no avail. A person from Student Activities (who approves student events) discussed the matter with Parker, but had no solution. So… the tournament was held on The Set, the club’s gathering spot on Fridays. The Rattler show must go on.
After everyone filled out cards for registration, the pairings were made (by hand). The following players were registered:
Name | Major |
| Amara Fisher | Journalism |
| Jayson Hayes | Criminal Justice |
| Toron Jones | Music Education |
| Valiant Payne | Business Administration |
| Aden Richardson | Computer Info. Systems (Cybersecurity) |
| Christopher Shaw | Political Science |
| Ricardo Stewart | Architecture |
| Eljaye Tellis | Chemistry |
| James Tinner | Computer Info. Systems (Info. Technology) |
| Joseph’LaFaye Washington-Clements | Architecture |
These students represent some very accomplished backgrounds. Prior to attending FAMU, Richardson got the highest ACT score at his Atlanta high school and is on full scholarship. Hayes was high school salutatorian and interned at Urban Alliance, the Chicago company responsible for designing the Obama Presidential Center. Fischer, Jones and Tinner are in the trumpet section of the Marching 100, while Tellis is a doctoral student.
At opposite ends of the matriculation spectrum is senior Stewart, the club’s vice president and one of the most passionate members. He provides leadership and is always recruiting new players. A few years ago, Stewart performed with Kendrick Lamar in Paris, France for a Louis Vuitton fashion show. Payne is a dynamic member of the freshman class and only learned to play chess at the interest meeting.
“Jo-Laye” was the last player to enter the tournament as she was walking toward the venue singing. This must’ve been a good omen because she would be the 10th player and the tournament could proceed with everyone getting an opponent. Caleb Parker would continue on as the tournament director along with Dr. Shabazz. Let the games begin!
Round 1
| Name (white) | Result | Name (black) |
| Fischer | 1-0 | Shaw |
| Hayes | 1-0 | Tellis |
| Jones | 1-0 | Tinner |
| Richardson | 1-0 | Washington-Clements |
| Payne | 0-1 | Stewart |
Round 2
| Name (white) | Result | Name (black) |
| Fisher | 0-1 | Hayes |
| Jones | 0-1 | Richardson |
| Stewart | 0-1 | Tellis |
| Shaw | 1-0 | Payne |
| Washington-Clements | 0-1 | Tinner |
Round 3
Going into the last round, there was two players with perfect scores (Richardson and Hayes), but a mistake was made and they were not paired together. While they ultimately played in a tiebreaker, they had to wait another round. Washington-Clements had to withdraw so chess club President and HBCU Champion Caleb Parker decided to give Payne some pointers.
| Name (white) | Result | Names (black) |
| Richardson | 1-0 | Shaw |
| Tellis | 0-1 | Jones |
| Hayes | 1-0 | Stewart |
| Tinner | 1-0 | Fisher |
| Payne | BYE (one point) |
After three rounds, Aden Richardson and Jayson Hayes tied for first place, winning all three games. It is standard procedure to have a tiebreaker to determine an outright winner. There was a draw for colors to determine who would play white… or orange! Both players would play on the orange and green board for the tiebreaker and 15 minutes per player.
Aden Richardson and Jayson Hayes battling in tiebreaker!
Richardson had a sizable advantage, but allowed counterplay as Hayes had a dangerous passed pawn only two squares from glory. In a tense moment, Richardson was on the brink of throwing away a win. Hayes kept playing despite being an entire rook down, but the passed pawn served as a diversion. In fact, the game appeared to be headed to a draw, but at a critical moment, Hayes missed his chance and ended up losing the grip on the position. Richardson went on to win to become the champion. Congratulations to Richardson and also to Hayes for a thrilling battle!
Toron Jones (Music Ed.) and James Tinner (CIS) had 2/3; Eljaye Tellis (Chemistry), Christopher Shaw (Political Science), Ricardo Stewart (Architecture), Amara Fisher (Journalism), Valiant Payne (Business Administration) had 1/3. Joseph’Lafaye Washington-Clements (Architecture) had to leave before the third round and ended with 0/2. Thanks to everyone who participated and made it a success!
(L-R): James Tinner, Caleb Parker, Toron Jones, Dr. Daaim Shabazz, Jayson Hayes, Aden Richardson, Ricardo Stewart
Photo Gallery: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rwzgdPacGEtQWCYR7
Photos by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum
