MADISON – Players with Madison City Chess League blasted into Nashville to claim recognition at the 2019 National Elementary (K-6) Championship on May 10-12 at Gaylord Opryland Resort.

The league “brought the largest group of kids from Alabama, and we learned so much,” League Executive Director Ranae Bartlett said. “Thanks to our coaches and teachers who worked with our kids all weekend. Thanks to our parents who provided our kids with one of the best chess opportunities to learn and improve their skills.”

In team awards, Rainbow Elementary School claimed first place for the K5 Under 1200 Section. Members are Marek Fries, Karsten Wallace, Artem Starenki, Arnav Maskey, Landon Drummond and Holland Lang.

In addition, Rainbow ranked third for K1 Under 500 Section. Members are Brantley Davis, Olivia Smith, Jackson Campbell, Emory Howell, Isaac Kreusser, Jacob Kuang, Eamon Jemison and Annabelle Hsu. For K3 Under 700, Rainbow took sixth place with Emma Kuang, Caden Jordan, Cooper Meyer, Jack Meyer, Tyce Crosswy and Connor Jemison.

Rainbow’s team for K5 Under 900 with Ethan Van, Ally Kuang, Christine Wang and Caroline Wang took 11th place.

From Discovery Middle School, the team of Swetha Jakka, Shruti Kadam, Michael Nguyen, Owen Lang and Alex Meyers earned fifth place for K6 Under 1000. Horizon Elementary School’s team with Eashan Padur, Spandan Dongre, Molly Fruchnicht, Trenton Holcombe and Samsara Rajbhandari competed in K3 Under 700 Section for 18th place. 

Madison students received numerous individual awards:

* K5 Under 1200 —  Marek Fries, Rainbow, second; Danny Seewald, Heritage, 11th; Holland Lang and Karsten Wallace, Rainbow, tied for 20th; Jesse Gu and Nirvana Rajbhandari, Horizon, tied for 20th.

* K6 Under 1400 — Steven Pan, Discovery, 15th.

* K6 Under 1000 — Swetha Jakka, Discovery, 19th.

* K5 Under 900 — Andrew Yang, Madison Elementary School, 15th; Ethan Van, Rainbow, 24th; Caroline Wang, Rainbow, tied for 40th; and Sahithi Mynampally, Mill Creek Elementary School, tied for 40th.

* K3 Under 700 — Samsara Rajbhandari, Horizon, 21st; Viraat Veeravali, Mill Creek, tied for 30th; Emma Kuang, Rainbow, tied for 30th.

For more information, visit madisonchess.com.