FAMU Chess sets team; readies for HBCU Classic

The FAMU Chess Club held a qualifying tournament to determine who would represent the school at the upcoming HBCU Chess Classic. The Classic will feature teams from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, of which there are 107 nationwide.

The FAMU Chess Club was rechartered on January 28th after more than 20 years of dormancy. The Executive Board has worked hard to organize a slate of events this semester culminating in the HBCU tournament. The qualifying event was held on March 22nd on “The Set” during “Be Out Day,” a festival of activities involving music, food, arts, and plenty of vendors!

The chess players would play in the fresh air despite the distractions and the fact that on Saturdays, the desired space was not available. Then, players assembled in the sunshine to battle for a spot on the FAMU chess team. The following players were in the field.

Name	Major
Adanma Adebayo-Kay	Psychology
Spencer Allen	Architecture
Elijah Bolds	FAMU Contractor (Metz)
Christopher Foreman	Business Admin.
Jayson Hayes	Criminal Justice
Caleb Parker	CIS (Computer Science)
Aden Richardson	CIS (Cybersecurity)
Ja’Zara Richardson	Business Admin.
Ricardo Stewart	Architecture
James Tinner	CIS (Info. Technology)

Round 1

There were six new players in the field and it shows that the outreach on the FAMU campus has been successful. There was also the unveiling of the giant lawn set as an attention grabber. With Ricardo Stewart joining in round two, there were an odd number of players in the field, so President Caleb Parker would join after a 1/2-point bye.

There were some thrilling games, including Foreman-Tinner. Tinner had tactical chances, but a moment of indecision prevented him from holding the position. Foreman kept up the pressure and got a winning position. Tinner ended up forfeiting on time, trying to find answers. Great fight!

Name (white)	Result	Name (black)
Adebayo-Kay	0-1	Hayes
Allen	1-0	A. Richardson
Bolds	1-0	J. Richardson
Foreman	1-0	Tinner
Parker	1/2-point BYE
Stewart	1/2-point BYE

Round 2

The second round would see the President and Vice-President entering the tournament after a 1/2-point bye. Both have done an excellent job leading the campus initiative. Parker would be playing in his first tournament of the club he is leading. He would play the winner of the first FAMU tournament, Aden Richardson.

Ja’Zara Richardson had received a lesson from Elijah Bolds (see video above) and put it to good use against Ricardo Stewart. Despite being a queen and bishop up, she couldn’t figure out how to corner the king. She surrendered the draw by giving up her queen. On board one, Spencer Allen and Chris Foreman had a thrilling battle, and it was unclear what was going on. Finally, Allen got his attack going and ended up checkmating Foreman.

Name (white)	Result	Name (black)
Allen (1)	1-0	Foreman (1)
Hayes (1)	0-1	Bolds (1)
J. Richardson (0)	1/2-1/2	Stewart (.5)
A. Richardson (0)	0-1	Parker (.5)
Tinner (0)	1-0	Adebayo-Kay (0)

Round 3

Two players with 2/2 were Elijah Bolds, a manager at Metz Culinary (FAMU vendor), and Spencer Allen, who found out about the event through social media.

Name (white)	Result	Name (black)
Bolds (2)	1-0	Allen (2)
Parker (1.5)	1-0	Hayes (1)
Stewart (1)	0-1	Tinner (1)
Foreman (1)	1-0	J. Richardson (.5)
Adebayo-Kay (0)	0-1	A. Richardson (0)

Bolds won for the third straight time, never giving up his space advantage with white (orange). Parker won again, setting up a showdown between the two top scores.

Round 4

It seemed appropriate that Parker would be playing for the tournament’s first prize, but it is clear that there is competition on the campus of FAMU. The reigning HBCU champion is encouraged to know there are such students. This last round will determine the two teams FAMU is taking to Atlanta for the 3rd HBCU Chess Classic. Parker hopes to lead the club to the title and defend his own. Could he win in the last round of this qualifying tournament?

Name (white)	Result	Name (black)
Parker (2.5)	0-1	Bolds (3)
Tinner (2)	0-1	Allen (2)
A. Richardson (1)	0-1	Foreman (2)
Hayes (1)	0-1	Stewart (1)
J. Richardson (.5)	1-0	Adebayo-Kay (0)

In the finale on the top board, Bolds won a tense game against Parker to complete a perfect 4/4, winning the tournament. Both Allen and Foreman won to end on 3/4 in their FAMU debuts. The games were well-fought, and the participants hope to take this fighting spirit to the HBCU Chess Classic to wrest the title away from North Carolina A&T.

Unfortunately, Bolds does not qualify for the team because he works for Metz (a FAMU contractor) and is not a student at the university. However, he has been a valuable supporter of the campus chess mission. Congratulations!

Final Standings

Name	Points
Elijah Bolds	4
Spencer Allen	3
Christopher Foreman	3
Caleb Parker	2.5
Ricardo Stewart	2
James Tinner	2
Ja’Zara Richardson	1.5
Aden Richardson	1
Jayson Hayes	1
Adanma Adebayo-Kay	0

This will be the last tournament for the school year, and it was a very busy semester for the FAMU Chess Club. After becoming an official FAMU club in January, the group had weekly meetings on “Set Friday,” participated in the Club Fair, held their Interest Meeting, organized a study session, and conducted two tournaments. This is as much as some clubs may do in a school year.

The FAMU Chess Club would like to thank everyone for participating. Congratulations to those earning spots on the team!

2024-2025 FAMU Chess Team
Name	Major
Adanma Adebayo-Kay	Psychology
Spencer Allen	Architecture
Daniel Buckley	Engineering
Amara Fisher*	Journalism
Christopher Foreman	Business Admin.
Caleb Parker	CIS (Computer Science)
Aden Richardson	CIS (Cybersecurity)
Donovan Ruddock**	CIS (Info. Technology)
Ricardo Stewart	Architecture
James Tinner	CIS (Info. Technology)
** Replacing Jayson Hayes
* Replacing Ja’Zara Richardson

Photo Gallery: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6togLjyAxn8dFBvo9
Photos by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum