All Girls State Chess Championship sets new attendance record

MADISON – Some players imagined themselves working for the company that sponsored the 2022 All Girls State Chess Championship.

“Immediately upon entry into the Hexagon building, the girls were impressed and thought this would be a cool place to work,” Ranae Bartlett said. Bartlett is Executive Director of Madison City Chess League.

“The skills that chess players develop are very transferrable to the STEM fields, so it just makes sense for companies like Hexagon to sponsor events like this championship,” Bartlett said.

The competitors set a new attendance record for the All Girls State Chess Championship. Competing in three sections, 56 girls entered the tournament. “This (new record) would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors: State Senator Arthur Orr and Hexagon, the tournament site” at 305 Intergraph Way in Madison, Bartlett said.

The K-3 section had the most competitors with 22 girls. Individual award winners were Esinam Tettey, first; Alice Zou, second; Avyaktha Subramania, third; Cora Newberry, fourth; and Annabelle Hsu, fifth.

The teams’ battle led to these results:

* Rainbow Elementary School – First place with Cora Newberry, Annabelle Hsu, Hannah Kuang, Sarah Rytting and Natalie Doe.

* Mill Creek Elementary School – Second place for Esiname Tettey, Avyaktha Subramania and Janvi Jinva.

* Horizon Elementary School – Third place with Alice Zou, Lilia Baker, Zoey Mulloy, Jade Brooks and Kylie Harden.

Individual winners in the K-6 Section were (starting with first and descending) Sophia Jerez, Kylie Zou, Samsara Rajbhandari, Emerson Phillips, Anna Ai and tied for fifth-place medals, Kate Meyer, Christina Yang and Sarah Peter.

Team results included these schools:

* Horizon — First place with Sophia Jerez, Kylie Zou and Samsara Rajbhandari.

* Discovery Middle School – Second, Christina Yang and Kate Meyer.

* Columbia Elementary School – Third with Emerson Phillips, Tiegan Eastman and Rose Polpanich.

In the K-12 Section, individual winners were Emily Jiang in first, Sarvagna Vlidandla, Advitiya Kana, Shreya Sunil, Constance Wang and tied for fifth-place medals for Nirvana Rajbhandari and Oviya Gowder.

These teams placed in the tournament:

* Bob Jones High School – First place team with Constance Wang, Rachael Ehrman, Swetha Jakka, Maanasi Limaye and Mable Danh.

* Discovery – Second place for Nirvana Rajbhandari, Caroline Wang, Abby Chan and Lily Harper.

* James Clemens High School – Third place with Shreya Sunil and Oviya Gowder. Tying for five team points and narrowly missing out on a team trophy were Liberty Middle School team members Sahithi Mynamplly, Isabelle Park and Isabelle Bao.

“After the tournament, parents shared how much fun their daughters had and how energized they were to continue playing. That’s one of the greatest benefits of holding an all-girls event, because, most of the time, girls are noticeably outnumbered by boys in chess tournaments,” Bartlett said.

For their championship ‘swag,’ the girls received a hoodie jacket with the contest’s logo.