Caroline Wang, at center, extends her arm for a handshake with her opponent. Wang, a first-grader, agreed to play up (against older students) in the K-6 section when a team member got sick. (Photo by Scott Wilhelm)

MADISON – Madison chess players continue to compile first-place wins and to sweep the top places in tournament standings.

The North Alabama Team Scholastic (NATS) Tournament was held at James Clemens High School on Feb. 21.

“We had 34 teams show up to compete at NATS with a delayed start time,” Madison City Chess League Director Ranae Bartlett said. “The K-3 section was able to play a full four rounds. The K-6 and K-9/Open section played three rounds.”

In the K-3 section, the Rainbow Elementary School Red Team earned first-place honors with 3.5 points. Madison teams rounding out the top five places and earning 2.5 points included Columbia Elementary School 1 Team, second; Heritage Elementary School Black Team, third; Heritage White Team, fourth; and Rainbow Blue Team, fifth.

Columbia 2 Team also scored 2.5 points in K-3 action but missed out on tie breaks, Bartlett said.

For the K-6 section, the first-place team was Rainbow Red Team with three points. Madison teams won the remaining top places, each with 2.5 points. Rainbow Blue Team took second place; Rainbow Green, third; Horizon B, fourth; and West Madison Elementary School, fifth.

“Also with two points in K-6 section but missing out on tie breaks were Heritage Gold, Mill Creek Elementary Blue Team, Blossomwood Elementary School A Team and Columbia 1,” Bartlett said.

Discovery Middle School earned first place in the junior high section for grades K-9 with two points. Liberty Middle School scored one point to take second place. Covenant Christian Academy was third with one-half point.

During the tournament, first-grader Caroline Wang “agreed to play up in the K-6 section when a team member got sick,” Bartlett said. “Caroline had the best day with 2.5 out of 3 points. Caroline is the sister of Constance Wang, also a Rainbow student, who won the K-6 section at Queen’s Quest last November.”