In his landmark school finance decision on Monday, February 4, State District Judge John Dietz highlights the story of how the chess  movement began in Brownsville in 1989 at Russell Elementary School with teacher JJ Guajardo.

Twenty-four years later, the success of thousands of BISD students has made Brownsville schools a nationally recognized chess powerhouse, inspiring UT Brownsville to establish one of the top chess teams in the country.  In the Judge’s words, “this story is a perfect illustration of the miracle of education.”