Chess whiz Detric Anderson takes second at Necedah tournament

By Ken Luchterhand




World-famous chess champion Bobby Fisher started strategizing his moves at an early age.
Similarly, Detric Anderson has begun his ambitions as a chess prodigy.
Detric recently won second place in the Necedah 2018 Spring Chess Tournament for students in third to fifth grade.
“He learned to play when he was 7. His dad taught him to play,” said his mother, Kristin Hernandez. “He loves chess.”
He is a fifth-grade student at Grayside Elementary School within the Mauston School District.
Detric’s father is Nathan Anderson. He has two younger sisters, Arrie, 8, and Aveigh, 1.
This is the second time Detric has entered a chess tournament, with the last one in November.
At the recent tournament, the school cafeteria was set up with 40 chess boards so that up to 80 people of all ages could participate. Entrants ranged from kindergarten age up to older adults.
“They don’t separate people into different age groups,” Hernandez said.
There were five rounds of chess play, with each for 40 minutes. The scores from each play were combined for a total score, and then the winners were determined.
Of 54 players, Detric placed 17 overall and second in his age category.
“He’s looking forward to playing again in November,” Hernandez said.
His mother admits that her son is better at chess than her.
“Actually, he taught me to play,” she said. “Before he taught me, I could never understand the game. When he explained it, it all made sense. Now we play against each other.”
To test his chess-playing abilities, Detric often goes to the library to find someone to play against. And sometimes he plays against his grandmother.
His keen knowledge of chess is indicative of his abilities to comprehend all intellectual challenges.
“He’s a grade ahead in math in school,” she said. “He was selected two years in a row to be a part of the Noetic National Math Contest. They only select students who are ahead of their grade in math.”
In the math contest, he received Honorable Mention for grades three and four.
“I’m super proud of him. He’s always been intelligent,” Hernandez said. “He’s very independent and intelligent for his age.”



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