Chess players open season with Summer Knights tourney

MADISON – More than 100 members and supporters gathered on Aug. 24 for Summer Knights Chess Tournament, the first scholastic chess tournament for 2024.

Madison City Chess League or MCCL thanked Rainbow Elementary School for hosting the tournament. “MCCL appreciates our sponsor CB&S Bank for their continued support,” MCCL Executive Director Todd Guthrie said.

All sections, Rated and Non-Rated, had five round times at 9:15 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:45 p.m. and 3 p.m. for a full day of chess competition.

The following standings state the students who claimed the top ten places (starting with first place) for each section:

* K-12 Open – Sophia Jerez, first place; Milan Malak, second; Esteban Jerez, third; Pragya Kothari, fourth; Alice Zou, fifth; Lucas Osipychev, sixth; Alandra Jackson, seventh; Samsara Rajbhandari, eighth; Caroline Wang, ninth; and Kylie Zou, tenth.

* K-12 Under 1,000 – Sean Rowe, first; Christopher Nguyen, second; Isaac Kreusser, third; Jonathan Lam, fourth; Bradley Bencivenga, fifth; Samuel Liao, sixth; Laya Gowder, seventh; Tim Lee, eighth; Sreehari Peringoth, ninth; and Rushi Patel, tenth.

* K-12 Under 500 – Vincent Grenon, first; Parker Klein, second; Udara Sarathchandra, third; Gopika Baipu, fourth; Cole Haley, fifth; Abigail Finley, sixth; Tiegan Eastman, seventh; William Deaver, eighth; Raymond Hsu, ninth; and Karthik Panchavati, tenth.

* Non-Rated K-12 – Peyton Webber and Sean Ranguelov, tie for first place; Aiden Nguyen and Noah Harbin, tie for third; Ahziry Gonzalez, fifth; and Meredith Godfrey, sixth.

* Non-Rated K-6 – Samuel Moore, first; Neo Velazco, second; Sloane Befecadu and Ana Fountain, tie for third; Yoshi George; fifth; Dohee Bak, sixth; Jamison Shepherd, seventh; Wesley Zheng, eighth; Emersyn Black, ninth; and Ahana Singhal, tenth.

* Non-Rated K-3 – Saarung Sree, first; Micah Thomas and Grahame Barnett, tie for second; Neil Hsu and Ryder Nichols, tie for fourth; Yuan Su, sixth; Talon Busby, seventh; Alex Morrison, eighth; Everett Black, ninth; and Gina Marie Fong, tenth.

Players in Rated sections (K-12 Open, K-12 Under 1,000, K-12 Under 500) received trophies for first through fifth places. Players in sixth through tenth places, along with Top Female, earned medals.

Players in Non-Rated Sections (Non-Rated K-12, Non-Rated K-6, Non-Rated K-3) received a trophy for first place. Medals were based on registration and for Top Female.