Students from Laurel Mountain Elementary School and Canyon Vista Middle School were among the top chess players at the Supernationals VI Chess Tournament — the world’s largest chess event — held in Nashville May 11-14.
The Canyon Vista chess team earned second place and Laurel Mountain student Rohit Gundham earned second place, eighth place and 13th place in three K-6 tournaments.
The six-student team from Canyon Vista consisted of Wesley Yeung, Ganesh Kumarappan, Ambica Yellamraju, Collin Khoi Lee, Aparna Yellamraju and Patrick Filgate Macartney, all of whom attend Canyon Vista.
“We are incredibly proud of these outstanding students who represented both Canyon Vista and Round Rock ISD on a national level,” Canyon Vista Principal Nicole Hagerty said. “The hard work and dedication needed to earn second place in the nation is impressive and I look forward to these students continued success in the future.”
The middle school section of the competition consisted of 225 students from 28 states and 188 schools. There were a total of 11 teams from Texas. Along with the team’s second-place finish, Ganesh also tied for second place in the Blitz Chess Tournament in the K-6 competitions.
“Competing at Supernationals was a huge experience because there were more than 5,000 players,” Ganesh said. “I am really proud of how I we did since we also got second place last year when we were at Laurel Mountain. Now we’re trying to win first place next year.”
