(CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Madison students ‘checked’ the competition at the North Alabama Open chess tournament.

The tournament was held at the University of Alabama in Huntsville on Jan. 11. Caesar Lawrence of Birmingham was tournament director.

Boone Ramsey placed first in the Knight section for grades K-8. Constance Wang earned first-place honors in the Pawn section for grades K-4.

Ramsey and Wang both attend Rainbow Elementary School.

In the Knight section, Vishay Ram from Heritage Elementary School earned third place. Sherwood Dong from Columbia Elementary School took fourth place. From Rainbow, Mercedes Zich was in fifth place, while Jenson Wilhelm placed sixth.

In the Pawn section, Jonah Tuttle captured second place. Jonathan Yang took fourth place, while Zachary Calinsky ranked in fifth place. Edward Calinsky was in sixth place. All these Madison children attend Rainbow.

Madison youngsters will participate with about 100 players in the Rookie Rally on Feb. 1 at Blossomwood Elementary School in Huntsville. More than 20 players from Rainbow have entered the tournament.