52 girls competed in the 3rd annual Alabama All-Girls State Chess Championship on February 22nd in Madison. The girls competed across three age sections: high school (K-12), middle school (K-6), and primary (K-3) sections. After taking a half-point bye in the first round, Constance Wang, 9th grade, finished with 3.5/4 to take clear first place in the championship section. In the final round, Wang defeated defending champion and top seeded Sarvagna Velidandla to take her first All-Girls state title. Pending approval by the Alabama State Chess board in April, Wang will be nominated to be the Alabama representative to the Ruth Haring All Girls National Championship.
Champions seem to run in the Wang blood as Caroline Wang, 6th grade and Constance’s sister, won outright the K-6 section with a perfect score of 5.0/5. Top seeded Nirvana Rajbhandari had a great tournament scoring 4.0/5, but in the 3rd round was taken down by the young up-and-coming Advitiya Kana who Wang subsequently conquered leading to her clear title. In the K-3 section, three co-champions were crowned with scores of 4.0/5: Samsara Rajbhandari, 3rd grade, Emma Kuang, 3rd grade, and Annabelle Hsu, kindergarten. Both Rajbhandari and Kuang were among the favorites heading into the tournament, with Rajbhandari leading in the final round with 4.0/4. With Hsu’s final round upset victory leading to the three-way tie for first, Hsu became one of the youngest ever champions in an Alabama state chess championship section of any kind.
Team awards were also given out with Bob Jones High School (Madison) winning the K-12 section, Discovery Middle School (Madison) taking the K-6 section crown, and Rainbow Elementary School (Madison) taking first in the K-3 section. The state of Alabama looks forward to the brilliant chess produced by each of these champions as they all continue to improve, and especially looks forward to the continued growth of all women’s chess in Alabama in the years to come.
For tournament final standings, pairings, and team results, follow this link to the Madison City Chess League‘s website.
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