MCCL players win spring contests, advance to nationals
MADISON – During tournaments in early 2026, members of Madison City Chess League or MCCL played victoriously to win honors and advance to national contests. The youngest competitors to take to the boards, kindergartners participated in the MCCL Kindergarten Chess Tournament on April 11 at Mill Creek Elementary School. Rhett Smith, who attends Rainbow Elementary School, won first-place honors.
Second place went to Noah Werner, a Mill Creek Elementary School student. Randolph School student Farah McCreless finished third. “Congratulate these kindergarten chess players. We’re so happy to see kindergarten students learning to play chess!” MCCL Executive Director Todd Guthrie said.
Congratulations are due to Bob Jones High School students who claimed the third-place team trophy at the Kasparov Chess Foundation or KCF All-Girls National Chess Championship in Chicago, Ill. on April 10-12. Nirvana Rajbhandari, Caroline Wang and Christina Yang competed in the Under 18 section, placing ahead of teams with higher ratings from Texas and New York. “Congratulations, girls! And thank you for representing Bob Jones at a national championship,” Guthrie said.
In other competitions, MCCL members delivered stellar performances to qualify for state and national tournaments. “Congratulations to Sophia Jerez, Milan Malak and Yuan Su. These Madison students will be representing Alabama at national invitational chess tournaments held in Grand Rapids, Mich. at the beginning of August,” Guthrie said.
Bob Jones student Sophia Jerez earned the right to represent Alabama at the Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions. Jerez won the top section at the 2026 Alabama All-Girls State Chess Championship.
Malak, a student at Heritage Elementary School, qualified to represent Alabama at the John D. Rockefeller III National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions. Malak was the top player in the Elementary Championship section at the 2026 Alabama State Scholastic Chess Championship.
Rainbow student Yuan Su will be the Alabama representative at the Maurice Ashley National Tournament of K-3 State Champions. Su tied for first place in the Primary Championship Section at the 2026 Alabama State Scholastic Chess Championship. He then won the playoff against co-champion Bode Atkins.
For chess play at home, Madison Community Center at 1329 Brown’s Ferry Road has scheduled time each month. “If you’re looking for another opportunity to play or to meet other chess players in Madison, check out Madison Community Center’s open chess nights,” Guthrie said.
An open chess night for youth from seven to 15 years old will be available monthly on the first Wednesday. The session time will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Upcoming dates for open chess night are May 6, June 3, July 1 and Aug. 5.
In addition, adult chess players who are at least 18 years old will have an open chess night monthly on the third Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Upcoming dates are May 20, June 17, July 15 and Aug. 19.
For more information, email mccl.director@gmail.com, or visit madisonchess. com.
