Summer Knights opens chess season with large turnout

MADISON – The 2019 Summer Knights Scholastic Chess Tournament was a rousing success with more than 100 students registering for the contest.

“We had kids from pre-kindergarten to high school playing in this tournament. They had a great day,” Ranae Bartlett said. Bartlett is Executive Director of Madison City Chess League.

Summer Knights offered both rated and non-rated sections. Students spent their Saturday thinking, calculating and exercising their brains while parents, coaches and teachers cheered them on, Bartlett said.

“A big thank-you goes to CB&S Bank, our sponsor of the tournament. We could not do these chess events without the continued support of sponsors,” Bartlett said.

In the Non-Rated K-3 section, Sawyer Wright earned first place. Other winners (in descending order) were Kylie Zou, Shrabin Bista, Cora Newberry, Kush Patel, Emerson Phillips, Gavin Luthy, Brennan Lockwood, Nathan Dong, Grace Lee and Matthew Ng. Abigail Barbre earned the “Top Female” award.

In Non-Rated K-6, top players starting with first place were Lachie Jones, Kate Meyer, Arush Sharma, Zackary Duclos, Adrian Smith, Logan Smialek, Voltaire Kinley and Clayton Bruns. Kate Meyer also was Top Female.

In Non-Rated K-12, Joseph Strickland was first-place player. Justin Yoon ranked in second, Conrado Jocson in third and Aiden Silk in fourth.

In Rated Under 500, place-winners starting in first were Jack Meyer, Brantley Davis, Isaac Kreusser, Christina Yang, Madison Gore and Cooper Meyer. Ellie Chan was named Top Female.

In Rated Under 1000, Pranaav Satheesh claimed first place, followed by Asher Kovacs, Aasim Musani, Shruti Kadam, Neha Chopade and Joseph Park. Sahithi Mynampally was Top Female.

In Rated Open, top players were Sherwood Dong in first, Constance Wang, Steven Pan, William Spanier, Oviya Gowder and Landon Drummond. Rachael Ehrman ranked as Top Female.

Tournament directors were Aubteen Pour-Biazar and Jenson Wilhelm.

“We’re grateful for many high school chess club members who volunteered as coaches and tournament directors throughout the day. And thank you to Rainbow Elementary School for being a great host,” Bartlett said.

The next tournament will be the Fall Scholars Chess Tournament, sponsored by Madison City Schools. Madison Elementary School will host the event.

For more information, call 256-970-4762, email mccl.director@gmail.com or visit madisonchess.com.