MCCL players enter National K-12 Grade Championships

MADISON – Madison City Chess League or MCCL had solid representation for a road trip to the National K-12 Grade Championships in Orlando, Fla.

“We are so happy MCCL members had the opportunity to compete in the National K-12 Grade Championships. It is a very challenging chess tournament – seven rounds played over three days,” MCCL Executive Director Todd Guthrie said. More than 2,400 players competed.

These MCCL players demonstrated their chess skills in Orlando:

* Bob Jones High School — Xavier Bruni, Landon Drummond and Aadi Saxena.

* Discovery Middle School — Abigail Barbre, Noah Hsu, Zane Kerby and Margaret Lin.

* Liberty Middle School — Andrew Tkach and Daniel Tkach.

* Rainbow Elementary School — Asher Allison, Anabelle Hsu, Dennis Lenski and Austin Pullum.

* Midtown Elementary School — Udara Sarathchandra.

* Randolph School — Yashoda Sarathchandra.

* Murfreesboro, Tenn. resident — Jimmy McHugh.

In top individual performances for Madison, Xavier Bruni finished in 23rd place in the Ninth Grade Championship with 4.5 points. Yashoda Sarathchandra finished 35th in the Tenth Grade Championship with 4.5 points. Asher Allison finished 83rd among the players in the Fourth Grade Championship with 4 points.

Bob Jones led in top performances for teams with Xavier Bruni, Landon Drummond and Aadi Saxena finishing as the seventh-place team in the Ninth Grade Championship. Rainbow elementary with Asher Allison, Annabelle Hsu and Dennis Lenski finished as the 14th-place team in the Fourth Grade Championship.

For a complete listing of the tournament’s final standings, visit uschess.org/results/2023/k12.

Serving as tournament sponsor, U.S. Chess Federation represents the United States in the World Chess Federation, thus connecting members to chess players around the world. Founded in 1939, U.S. Chess has grown to serve more than 100,000 members and 1,000 affiliated chess clubs.

In other chess activities, MCCL members can look forward to two chess tournaments in January 2024. The 2024 Winter Knights Scholastic Chess Tournament on Jan. 13, 2024, will be held at Columbia Elementary School. To register, visit madisonchess.com, and click the “EVENT” dropdown menu. Then click “UPCOMING EVENTS.” In the events list, click “2024 Winter Knights – 1/13,” and complete the registration details.

The second tournament in January will be the Rookie Rally at Blossomwood Elementary School in Huntsville on Jan. 27. To register, follow the preceding instructions, and select “2024 Rookie Rally Tournament (1/27).”

For more information, visit madisonchess.com.