International Master Danny Rensch, back row, visits with Madison youth at the 2015 National Elementary Chess Championship in Nashville in May. Rensch will instruct at the Summer Knights Chess Camp at Rainbow Elementary School on July 22-24. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Upcoming chess camps in Madison will feature International Master Danny Rensch.

Rensch will be onsite and participate in the Summer Knights Chess Camp at Rainbow Elementary School on July 22-24. For the first time, Madison City Chess League will offer five different levels for chess instruction: Learn to Play, Recreation, Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Competition.

“Our headline instructor will be International Master Danny Rensch. We are thrilled to be able to bring an instructor as well respected as Danny Rensch to Madison to teach at our summer chess camp,” Madison City Chess League Executive Director Ranae Bartlett said.

At 14 years old, Rensch earned the status of National Master with the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and then achieved the title of International Master at 23 years old. From 12 years old, he was ranked in the Top 10 for his age nationally for 10 consecutive years, reaching no. 1 in the United States at 19 years old.

Among his state and national scholastic titles, Rensch was 1998 Elementary National Champion, 2000 Junior High National Champion, 2004 High School National Champion and earned multiple first-place honors in individual state championships from 1995-2004.

As a coach and trainer, Rensch has developed multiple state and national scholastic chess champions. He is currently teaching several of America’s best scholastic chess players, many of whom are rated in the “Top 50” for their age nationally.

“Also teaching the Learn to Play, Recreation and Beginning Competition chess camps will be league instructors Noel Newquist and Dr. Paul Mulqueen, who both coached kids from Madison at the National Elementary Chess Championship,” Bartlett said. “For the first time in Alabama history, an Alabama elementary school, Rainbow Elementary School, won a national championship in the K-6 U1000 category.”

To register online for the Summer Knights Chess Camp, visit madisonchess.com/summer-knights-camp.

For camp questions, email to Bartlett at mccl.director@gmail.com. For more information about Madison City Chess League, visit madisonchess.com.