National K-12 Grade Championship
December 17th, 10:10PM
National K-12 Grade Championship at Disney World
Twenty-eight students from Alabama competed in the 2017 National K-12 Chess Championship on December 8-10th, and twenty-six of them were members of the Madison City Chess League. This is the most challenging national tournament as our kids competed against some of the highest rated in the country. MCCL had 3 full teams from DMS 7th & 8th grade and a 9th grade BJHS team compete along with other individuals. All teams placed in the top 10! In addition, a number of students received individual trophies: 3rd grade--Xavier Bruni (tied for 20th with 5 points); 4th grade--Pulak Agarwalla (18th place with 5 points); 8th grade--Mohak Agarwalla (tied for 10th with 5 points), Will Cox (2nd place class prize for ratings 1000-1199); 9th grade--Hayden Billmann (2nd place class prize for ratings 1200-1399).
This is the toughest scholastic chess tournament of the year, and our students saw it as an opportunity to play some of the highest rated players in the country. Bob Jones sophomore William Spanier came out of his first round with the biggest grin on his face. He had been paired against someone rated over 2000 who ended up winning 3rd place in the 10th grade section. Although William lost that round, he explained, "I got to play someone rated over 2000! I never get to do that here in Alabama." He was exactly right. This is why we compete at this event--to give our kids the chance to learn and grow. And often, we learn the best lessons by losing. Our chess league celebrates everyone who enters the arena to compete. It takes perseverance to play chess at a competitive level, and our kids are learning how to persevere at a very young age. Our youngest competitors, 1st graders Blaise Bruni and Noah Hsu from Rainbow Elementary and Samsara Rajbhandari from Horizon, all ended the tournament with 3 out of 7 possible points and had the best time. By competing at this event, they are laying the groundwork for bright future.
