For only the fourth time in the 45 years that the tournaments have been held, Chattanooga has a Tennessee state champion in scholastic chess.
McCallie School senior Kaleb Gosdin won the title earlier this month at Tennessee Technical University in Cookeville.
“It wasn’t too intense because I knew I could win,” Gosdin says. “I just studied and practiced more.”
As the winner, he joins Deane Peterson, also from McCallie, who was co-champion in 1971, the first year the scholastic tournament was held by the Tennessee Chess Association. Baylor’s Danny Silverstein won in 1982, and home schooler Philip Hinchman won in 2006.
Gosdin was joined at the tournament by fellow McCallie students Patrick Davis, a senior who finished 26th, and sixth-grader Sonny Ravinder, who finished 22nd in the elementary division. Several other area players qualified for the state tournament by finishing in the Top 8 in the region.; there are four regions in the state.
In winning, Gosdin avenged a loss to Alexaner Qin, who beat Gosdin in the 2015 finals. Gosdin actually drew even in this year’s finals match with Qin, but his wins in his previous four matches meant a draw would give him the title.
“I played for a draw,” Gosdin says.
He spent untold numbers of hours practicing for this years tournament, he says, working with four different instructors, including McCallie chess sponsor Mike Ake and Grand Master Alonso Zapata in Atlanta.
Ake says he’s had some very good players in the program, where he’s been for 12 years, but none in Gosdin’s class.
“Kaleb’s level of play is at a higher level than anyone around here, myself included,” Ake says.
About twice a month, Gosdin traveled to work with Zapata. The two reviewed games Gosdin had played in non-scholastic tournaments or against friends or club members, and they went over strategies, Gosdin says.
“We would go over my mistakes and talk about scenarios,” he says.
For the state tournament, each contestant in the senior, junior and elementary divisions played five matches each. Wins earn one point, draws earn a half point and losses earn no points. Gosdin finished with 4.5 points.
Davis says he has played chess since he was 7, but never on a serious competitive level because other activities such as football, weightlifting and track took up too much of his time. Competing at the region tournament at Cleveland Middle School on Jan. 30 was his first official tournament and the state tournament was his second.
“I’m normally busy, and I suppose I didn’t think I was good enough because I don’t play a lot,” he says.
“He did very well,” Ake says.
Ravinder is on the golf team at McCallie and also plays piano. Chess for him is a different experience.
“I guess I just like it because it involves every part of your brain,” he says. “I like the strategy.”
Gosdin echoes that sentiment.
“There is a lot more going on than people think,” he says.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.