Our team, playing for Madison City Schools, consisted of Robert Tremko (board 1), Kalyaan Sola (Board 2), Karthik Sola (Board 3), and Alex Weiner (Board 4). Alex, who is actually a Huntsville 5th grader, was a last-minute replacement for another boy who was unable to attend.

With only four teams entered in the Jr High section, the tournament director decided on a round-robin, rather than Swiss format. This meant that the team played only three rounds. Upon arrival, we were also informed that the team would be ineligible for trophies because the boys did not all attend the same school.

Round 1: Kalyaan scored a draw, all others lost.

Round 2: Alex won, all others lost.

Round 3: A clean sweep -- all four boys won their games!

The team placed 3rd (out of four), and the boys received ribbons and travel chess sets. Despite initial disappointments, the boys played their best against some very strong opponents, and went home with some memorable victories.

It was a pleasure for me to be acting coach for the day, and Alex was quite honored to be invited. Thanks are also due to Mrs. Tremko for chauffering 3/4 of the team to Tuscaloosa, and driving us all to lunch.