A tenacious performance from the relegation-threatened hosts was rewarded just after the break when John Terry headed Joel Ward's cross into his own net.
The win leaves Palace five points clear of third-bottom Cardiff City - who they play next weekend - with seven Premier League games to play and dealt a blow to Chelsea’s title hopes.
And Kemp was thrilled with the effort and commitment of Tony Pulis’ side.
He said: "We had to stop their strengths and we had to have players that were prepared to run beyond their back four and run at them and stretch them.
"I thought we did that very well, obviously the finishing didn't match some of the rest of the play but that's been a problem for a while and fortunately one (goal) was enough.
"I think we had a lot of players putting in great individual performances and within the framework of the team, I think that was very important."
Cameron Jerome was particularly impressive and his performance came as no surprise to Kemp.
He said: “We've had him before at Stoke and we know his potential and what he's capable of.
“That was a performance where he showed all that potential, apart from the finishing obviously because he’s hit the post, but he put in a wonderful performance and hopefully we can keep it going for next week."
