MADISON – For the third consecutive year, Discovery Middle School is the Junior High School Chess Champion Team in Alabama.

The Discovery Teal team of Josh Lin, Jenson Wilhelm, Will Bao and Hayden Billmann achieved a perfect score of four team points to win the team championship at the 2017 State Scholastic Chess Championship.

Bob Jones High School hosted the state meet on March 11-12, Ranae Bartlett said. Bartlett serves Executive Director of Madison City Chess League.

In addition, Madison City Chess League’s K-9 Club team with Discovery students Will Cox, Aubteen Pour-Biazar, Edward Calinsky and Thomas Nguyen were first-place winners in the Junior High Club Division.

The league’s K-12 Club team of Om Badhe from Liberty Middle School, Michael Guthrie from Bob Jones, Mohak Agarwalla from Cedar Ridge Middle School and Lawrence Zhang from James Clemens High School won first place in the Open Club Division.

The 2017 competition marks “the first time MCCL Club teams have competed and won in the K-9 and K-12 Club Divisions at the state chess championship,” Bartlett said.

On March 12 during the team event, Bob Jones’ team with William Spanier, Douglas Zhang, Mark Skrabanek and Hugh Mitchell narrowly missed a team award by one-half of a point. “Likewise, the Liberty team of Will Fox, Sohan Mynampally, John Choung and Carson Boland missed out on a team trophy by half a point,” Bartlett said.

During Individual competition on March 11, Liberty student Will Fox placed third and Om Badhe ranked in fourth place with three points in the Junior High Championship section. Discovery student Jenson Wilhelm achieved three out of a possible four points, narrowly missing out on an award on tie-breaks.

In the K-8 Under 800 Section, Liberty students Hesham Shikhtholth won a trophy for second place and Luke Saurman took home a trophy for third place. In the K-12 Under 1000 Section, Bob Jones students Hugh Mitchell won first place and Grace Billmann earned fourth place.

Younger students also excelled at the tourney. “Once again, Madison chess teams demonstrated how hard work pays off as they swept all school team awards in both Primary and Elementary sections,” Bartlett said.

For more information about Madison City Chess League, email mccl.director@gmail.com or visit madisonchess.com.