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Fifty-two Madison City Chess League members competed at the National K12 Chess Championship at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee on December 16-18, 2016.  This is without a doubt the most challenging national scholastic tournament in which students compete against the best in the country in grade-level specific sections over seven rounds that span three days.  Each game can last around 3 hours if players on both sides use their full allotment of time.  

Although we have had kids from Madison compete individually at the National K12 in the past when it was held in Orlando, Florida, this was the first time we have been able to send multiple teams from multiple Madison schools because for this one year the tournament was held within driving distance in Nashville.  Most years it is cost-prohibitive for our kids to compete so far away in Orlando.  

What Makes National K12 Unique and Challenging?

National K12, also referred to as Grade Nationals, is unique in that everyone on your school team must be on the same grade level.  So, for example, all 2nd graders from a particular school can comprise a team.  The challenge is that most schools do not have enough students at the same grade level to form a three-person team.  Three is the minimum number a team needs to be competitive because the top three scores on any grade-level team comprise the team score at National K12.  Other national tournaments have sections that allow a school to combine grade-levels so that students from an entire elementary, middle, or high school can be put together to form a team--not so at National K12.  Adding even more difficulty is that every student competing on a grade level is grouped together regardless of rating, so it is entirely possible that one will play a student hundreds of ratings points higher.  Some could view this as daunting, while others relish the opportunity and challenge.  It is not for the faint of heart.

Friday - Day 1

The tournament opened on Friday with Round 1 starting at 1 p.m.  This presented an additional challenge for some of our middle and high school competitors who were finishing finals on Friday.  While students were allowed to request a first-round half-point bye, which many did, the energy level for an intense three-day tournament had to be diminished for those who were up late preparing for final exams.  For most of our older students, their first round to play was Round 2 that started at 6 p.m.  Most of our elementary students were able to miss the half day of school to compete in Round 1 on Friday.

MCCL was able to rent a team room and pay the travel, lodging, and meals for coaches who were present all weekend to help our kids review their games after each round and prepare for the next.  This instant feedback is very important to understand what went wrong and to learn from mistakes.  National chess tournaments are like an intensive chess camp, and those who are able to compete learn so much from the experience!

Saturday - Day 2

"Saturday is always my favorite day because one will see all the MCCL kids and coaches in their maroon shirts, and we all feel united and realize we are part of a large support network," said MCCL Executive Director Ranae Bartlett.  Individual competitors who do not have sufficient numbers to form a team from any particular school still feel like they are on a big team.  The support from our coaches and fellow competitors from Madison really helps.

Three rounds are played on Saturday, so it becomes a test of endurance.  Throughout the day, we saw our kids winning games against much higher-rated opponents.  That is always exciting!

Sunday - Day 3

Sunday was the last day of the tournament when the final two rounds are played.  Students wear their school team shirts, and for the first time, a number of school teams were able to compete and even win awards.  Madison was able to send full teams from Rainbow Elementary, Discovery and Liberty Middle, and Bob Jones High.

Two Madison teams received awards during the Awards Ceremony at the conclusion of the event.  The highest team award went to Bob Jones High School's 9th grade team (pictured below left) who placed 3rd in the nation at their first appearance at National K12!  Not far behind was Discovery Middle School's 8th grade team (below right) that finished in 4th place!  Both teams are coached by Bill Nash and FM Bradley Denton. In a time when competitive chess participation is in decline in middle and high school across the country, Madison is seeing growth in both age groups.

Both Liberty and Discovery Middle schools (pictured below) sent full 7th grade teams who placed 9th and 10th respectively.  The participation and success of our middle and high school teams is a great source of pride for our program.

Rainbow Elementary sent 20 students from grades 1st through 6th (pictured below). Rainbow’s 6th grade team finished in 7th place out of 26 teams. The 3rd grade team finished 11th out of 24 teams (only ½ a point from receiving a trophy!).  Second grader Xavier Bruni finished the tournament with 5 out of 7 points! 

MCCL also had some students win individual Class Prizes within their grade-level sections to recognize them for performance, given their individual ratings level. Congratulations to  Pulak Agarwalla (Benjamin Davis-Decatur) for winning the 1st place Class Prize in 1000-1199 section for 2nd grade; Ben Kosan (DMS) for winning the 2nd place Class Prize in 800-999 for 7th grade; and Will Bao (DMS) for winning the 2nd place Class Prize in the 1000-1199 section for 8th grade.

We are very grateful to all of our coaches, parents, and students for a great experience in Nashville.  A big thank you to Scott Wilhelm for taking wonderful photos throughout.  We will always remember the opportunity we had to compete in the most challenging national scholastic chess tournament of the year.