Teams sweep state chess championships
Rainbow Red team won first place in the primary division at the 2016 State Scholastic Chess Championship. Members are Karsten Wallace, front from left, Zachary Calinsky, Caroline Wang, Geon Park and coaches Ranae Bartlett, back from left, Bill Nash and Nancy Brandon. CONTRIBUTED
MADISON – Numerous teams from Madison excelled at the 2016 State Scholastic Chess Championship at Indian Springs School in Pelham on March 19-20. Madison swept every team award in the primary and elementary school sections.
In the primary (K-3) club section, Madison City Chess League team members Vallabh Busetty, Oviya Gowder, Pulak Agarwalla and Swetha Jakka won second place. Ed Mullin and Will Stevenson coached the team.
Also for primary, Rainbow Elementary School’s Red and Orange teams and Mill Creek Elementary School won the top three places, respectively. “This was a first for Madison teams and a true show of dominance,” league executive director Ranae Bartlett said.
Rainbow’s top team won all games in every match, accumulating 16 individual points. Rainbow Red team’s average USCF rating was higher than any primary team in the entire competition, Bartlett said.
Rainbow Red members are Karsten Wallace, Zachary Calinsky, Caroline Wang and Geon Park. Bill Nash, Nancy Brandon and Bartlett are coaches. Rainbow Orange members are Xavier Bruni, Catrina Holschen, Nicholas Koukos and Ethan Van.
Mill Creek’s team includes Sahithi Mynampally, Harsha Matta, Alex Povorozniuc and Shriya Sethuraj.
In the elementary (K-6) division, Madison again nabbed the top three awards: Rainbow Blue, first; Rainbow Green, second; and Columbia Elementary School Platinum, third. Rainbow won its third consecutive state elementary chess championship.
Rainbow Blue includes Victor Lundy, Boone Ramsey, Jenson Wilhelm and Constance Wang. Rainbow Green players are Edward Calinsky, Mercedes Zich, Maanasi Limaye and Ben Kosan. Columbia members are Thomas Nguyen, Timothy Zhu, Sherwood Dong and Pranaav Satheesh.
For the junior high division, Discovery Middle School’s Teal Team won the state championship. Players are Michael Guthrie, Hayden Billmann, Josh Lin and Will Bao. Paul Mulqueen is coach.
“The Discovery team repeated as state chess champion in a decisive fashion, winning 15 out of 16 games to clinch the title,” Bartlett said.
For more information about Madison City Chess League, email mccl.director@gmail.com or visit madisonchess.com.
