77 compete in Winter Scholastic Chess

For the Winter Scholastic Chess Tournament, 77 students competed in the contest at Columbia Elementary School on Jan. 9. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – Students ranging from kindergartners to high school teenagers exercised their brains on Jan. 9 at the Winter Scholastic Chess Tournament.

Columbia Elementary School hosted the 77 students registered to compete in both Rated and Non-Rated sections. Principal Jamie Hill welcomed contestants. Bob Jones High School Baseball Boosters sold concessions.

In Rated Sections, students received trophies for the top three places and medals for fourth through sixth places, according to Ranae Bartlett, director of Madison City Chess League.

In Rated K-3 section, Vallabh Busetty from Heritage Elementary School ranked in first place. Other place winners were Sahithi Mynampally, second and Harsha Matta, third, Mill Creek Elementary School; Xavier Bruni, fourth and Ethan Van, fifth, Rainbow Elementary School; Shriya Sethuraj, sixth, Mill Creek; and Swetha Jakka, Top Female, West Madison Elementary School.

In Rated 4-6th, Christopher Foote from Leon Sheffield Elementary School won first place. Other standouts were Rishi Sethuraj, second, Mill Creek; Alex Herrin, third, Rainbow; Neil Sethi, fourth; Columbia; Perri Larkin, fifth and Amy Park, sixth, Rainbow; and Kennedy Gore, Top Female.

For Rated 7-12th, first-place player was Ben Kosan from Rainbow. Wesley Gaddy from Discovery Middle School took second place; Bella Victory-Fox, third and Top Female; and Dheeraj Edulakanti, fourth, Liberty Middle School.

In the Non-Rated Section for K-3, Hatch Lombardy from Rainbow won first place. William Richards from Mill Creek earned second, along with Aaditya Saxena, third, Heritage; James Foote, fourth, Leon Sheffield; Edison Yang, fifth, Rainbow; and Laya Gowder, sixth and Top Female, Heritage.

For 4th-6th in Non-Rated, Nivriti Eadala from Mill Creek nabbed first place and Top Female status, while Caitlin Kelly from Rainbow ranked in second place.

For 7-12th in Non-Rated, Grace Billmann from Bob Jones took first place and Top Female honors, while Hugh Mitchell from Discovery was in second place.

“It’s always exciting to see students competing in their first chess tournament,” Bartlett said. “Congratulations to everyone who chose to spend their Saturday strategizing and thinking.”