MADISON – With the filing deadline on Dec. 22, girls need to act quickly to apply for a scholarship to an online chess class with the International Chess Academy.

Madison City Chess League is sponsoring the class, which was first announced in the league’s newsletter. To access the newsletter for an application, visit https://www.smore.com/rwkxb5-mccl-newsletter.

The academy’s eight-week class will be available to female scholastic chess players beginning on Dec. 30 and running through Feb. 17, 2021. Two classes will be offered: Intermediate 1 (for players with a United States Chess Federation or USCF rating of 600 to 1000) and Intermediate 2 (USCF rating of 1000 to 1200).

Class times will be offered at both 4 to 5 p.m. and then at 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

“To apply, you must be a current MCCL member and have renewed your MCCL membership for 2021,” MCCL Executive Director Ranae Bartlett said. “Homework will be required for the eight-week course, and it requires active online participation and answering questions.”

A donation to the MCCL Girls Chess Initiative is making these scholarships possible. The funding assistance is designed to encourage more girls to play competitive chess, particularly in the middle- and high-school levels, Bartlett said.

In awarding the scholarships, female students in middle school for grades six through eight and high school for grades nine through 12 will receive priority consideration. Elementary students in fourth and fifth grades also can apply who meet the minimum rating requirement.

Girls who are selected to receive the scholarship will be notified in email by Dec. 28.

“Don’t forget the deadline of Dec. 22,” Bartlett said.

Madison City Chess League is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting chess education to kids in grades K-12. “We teach kids life skills through the game of chess,” Bartlett said.

Mailing address for MCCL is P.O. Box 843, Madison, AL 35758. For more information, call 256-970-4762, email mccl.director@gmail.com or visit madisonchess.com.