2016 Rookie Rally Results
Blossomwood Elementary in Huntsville was the location for the 2016 Rookie Rally where 148 students from North Alabama gathered to compete in five sections: K-3 Primary, 4th-6th Under 500, K-6 500+, K-9 Junior High, and K-12 Open.
K-6 Over 500 playing hall.
K-3 Primary Section: The Largest Section
Once again the youngest competitors made up the largest section in the tournament with forty-four students. The top team awards went to:
1st place - Rainbow Elementary
2nd place - Mill Creek Elementary
3rd place - Blossomwood Elementary
4th place - Heritage Elementary
5th place - West Madison Elementary
All of the individual awards went to Madison students (R to L): Oviya Gowder (1st - Heritage); Karsten Wallace (2nd - RES); Caroline Wang (3rd - RES); Luke Chynoweth (4th - RES); Corinne Wilhelm (5th - RES); Zachary CalinsAll of the individual awards went to Madison students (R to L): Oviya Gowder (1st - Heritage); Karsten Wallace (2nd - RES); Caroline Wang (3rd - RES); Luke Chynoweth (4th - RES); Corinne Wilhelm (5th - RES); Zachary Calinsky (6th - RES); Landon Drummond (7th - RES); Sahithi Mynampally (8th - MCES); Catrina Holschen (9th - RES); Bryan Lee (10th - MCES); Mable Danh (10th medal - RES).
4th-6th Grade Under 500 Section
Both Queen's Quest and Rookie Rally added an Under 500 section for the most competitive age-group in chess this school year, and it has been the best decision for the emerging chess players in historically the largest section of chess. The Under 500 section has provided students the opportunity to gain some confidence as they move to the higher levels of competitive chess while making the pairings more meaningful during a tournament.
Top team awards went to:
1st place - Rainbow Elementary
2nd place - Columbia Elementary
3rd place - Madison Elementary
4th place - Blossomwood Elementary
5th place - Mill Creek Elementary
Individual awards went to (R to L): Isaac Pollard (1st - CES); John Choung (2nd - MES); Amy Park (3rd - RES); Alex Lee (4th - MCES); Will Cox (5th - RES); Amelia Dobbs (6th - RES); Megan Danh (7th - RES); Kennedy Gore (8th - RES); Neil Sethi (9th - CES); Zachary Takacs (10th - Randolph).
K-6 500+ Section
By far the most competitive section of the tournament, the K-6 over 500 section had the highest rated students in the entire tournament competing for the top awards. In addition, Rainbow third-grader Geon Park "played up" and still received a trophy. The schools receiving the top Team awards in this section were:
1st place - Rainbow Elementary
2nd place - Mill Creek Elementary
3rd place - Columbia Elementary
4th place - Blossomwood Elementary
5th place - Heritage Elementary
Individual awards went to (R to L): Om Badhe (1st -MCES); Boone Ramsey (2nd - RES); Geon Park (3rd -RES); Constance Wang (4th - RES); Jenson Wilhelm (5th - RES); Victor Lundy (6th - RES); Edward Calinsky (7th - RES); Aubteen Pour-Biazar (8th - WMES); Maanasi Limaye (9th - RES); Sherwood Dong (not pictured) (10th - CES); and tied for 10th place medals (L to R): William Fox, Rishi Sethuraj, Pranaav Satheesh, Shreya Sunil (not pictured), Christopher Foote, Puja Chopade and Neha Chopade.
K-9 Junior High & Open Sections
The top teams in the Junior High Section were: Discovery Middle (1st), Huntsville High (2nd) and Liberty Middle (3rd). In the Open Section, Covenant Christian Academy won 1st place team and _____ won 2nd place team.
Individual awards in the Junior High section went to (R to L): Josh Lin (1st - DMS); Sohan Dhar (2nd - Hampton Cove); William Spanier (3rd - DMS); Carson Boland (4th - LMS); Sean Zullo (5th - Huntsville High - not pictured).
More Qualify for City Chess Championship
Seven students qualified during Rookie Rally for the City Chess Championship.
K-3 Primary Section: Caroline Wang and Zachary Calinsky
4-6th Elementary Section: Victor Lundy and Edward Calinsky
7-8th Junior High Section: William Spanier and Carson Boland
9-12th High School Section: Grace Billmann
The last qualifier for the City Chess Championship will be the Bishop's Bash on February 27th at Hampton Cove.