The Westwood High School Chess Team out-moved the competition and placed third during the National High School Chess Championship held earlier this month in Memphis, TN.
Players from over 38 states flocked to the competition for a chance to compete with the best in the nation. Prior to arriving, individual players and teams had to qualify to compete at the national level, and in the K-12 team category, 24 teams reached for the top spot. To earn the title, each team member played seven rounds with each round lasting about four hours, which equates to 28 hours of playing per team member during the weekend.
Members of Westwood’s winning team include, Rohit Gundam, Nirupam Kushalnagar, Ganesh Kumarappan, Rithik Polavaram, Ambica Yellamraju, Aparna Yellamraju, Nitin Akella, Raghav Aggarwal, Loy Bhowmick, and Dhruv Pathak.
Students also took home individual awards. Rohit Gundam placed 14th, Nirupam Kushalnagar placed 23rd and Ganesh Kumarappan placed 24th.
