Seven-time champions and tournament favourites Campion A were stunned by their schoolmates, Campion B, when they lost on three of four boards in the quarter-finals of the Corporate Area section of the PCJ National Schools Chess Championships recently.

Campion B team members Malik Gayle, Emile Bain, Jevar Leslie and Brandon Stanley eliminated their senior schoolmates and advanced to the semi-finals with a score of 3-1.

A similar upset was created by Jamaica College (JC) when they trounced the highly favoured Wolmer’s Boys team 3-1. Wolmer’s delivered the initial blow when Kareem Wilson beat JC’s Jaleel Richards. However, Glendon Gordon, David Rose and Sajay McIntosh then delivered wins to secure JC’s slot in the semi-finals.

Next up for JC is the Ardenne High team of Horace Sinclair, Jeremy Parchment, Srinivasan Chockalingan and Leighton Barrett, who ended the Cinderella run of JC’s B Team with a 3.5 – 0.5 whipping.

Campion B will take on Calabar who are packing plenty star power with national junior champion and national Chess Master, Shreyas Smith front and centre. Smith led his team of Dwayne Campbell, Malik Curriah and O’brien Johnson to a comfortable 3-1 win over Excelsior to book their place in the semi-finals.

The semi-finals of the PCJ National Schools Chess Championships are scheduled for today at the PCJ Auditorium in New Kingston.