Friday, November 30, 2018

Four wins for a young Charger team at USM chess meet

KML players took care of business at Thursday’s chess meet at University School Milwaukee with four of six players winning their matches. KML scored wins from senior Josh Weber, junior Madelyn Lechmaier, and freshmen Ryan Wirkkula and Noah Kreis. 

To climb in the standings at a multi-school meet, KML players will need to continue winning and improving their US Chess ratings. Experienced players who have built higher ratings have greater point-scoring ability for their school. KML’s young team (with four freshmen) did what they needed to do – and they all took notation so we can go over games and improve.

RESULTS OF MEGAMEET 2 - November 29, 2018 at USM

1st: Brookfield East  7776

2nd: Wisconsin Lutheran HS  6580

3rd:  Tosa East 6558

4th:  Brookfield Academy  6390

5th:  Reagan  5673

6th:  Milwaukee School of Languages  3663

7th:  Rufus King   3619

8th:  Kettle Moraine Luth. HS   3179

9th:  USM   2441

10th:  Washington  1570

11th:   Milwaukee HS of the Arts    0




Friday, November 9, 2018

KML Players Perform Well at Wisconsin Junior Open


Five KML players gained valuable experience and finished strong at the Wisconsin Junior Open last weekend. There were 231 chess players and five rounds at this event held at UW-Oshkosh.

Here are the results for KML:
  • Ryan Wirkkula: 4 wins in 5 rounds, placed 9th of 84 in the Reserve section and 2nd for all unrated players in that section.
  • Ben Polheber: 3 wins in 5 rounds, placed 33rd of 84 in the Reserve Section.
  • Josh Weber: 3 wins in 5 rounds, placed 34th of 84 in the Reserve Section and 2nd for all players in the 300 rating class.
  • Eric Rodell: 2.5 wins in 5 rounds – that .5 came when he took a bye in Round 3 to perform with KML Echoes, using his many talents this weekend!
  • Kimberly Schill: 3 wins in 5 rounds, placed 9th of 21 in the Beginners Section.
Most importantly, all of our players took notation, so they were able to go over their games and improve. Huge shout-out to KML alumnus Dylan Schulz who hung out with our team this weekend and provided valuable encouragement.
Ryan and Josh bring home some hardware.

A "woulda-coulda-shoulda" discussion as teammates go over games at the end of the day.


Thursday, October 18, 2018

Weber and Wirkkula Win at First Meet of the 2018-19 Season

The 2018-19 chess season began with an introductory meet at University School Milwaukee. Senior Josh Weber and freshman Ryan Wirkkula scored points for the Chargers with wins. Freshman Kimberly Schill held her own in her first competitive match-up. KML players are now prepping for the Wisconsin Junior Open at UW-Oshkosh on November 3-4.

RESULTS OF USM MEET 1
October 18, 2018

1st: Brookfield East      8710

2nd: MSL   2732

3rd:  Tosa East     1759

4th:  Washington     1501

5th:  Kettle Moraine LHS   1286

6th:  USM   1200

7th:  MHS of the Arts   1000



Sunday, September 30, 2018

Welcome to the 2018-19 Chess Season!

It’s time for another season of chess! The high school team will meet at KML on Wednesdays from October through March, Room 1166, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. You can find a calendar and information about KML Chess right here on this blog.

Please note that students in grades 7 & 8 are invited to join the high school’s Wednesday meetings at KML and also are eligible to compete at the high school level. If you have questions, contact advisor Angie Molkentin at chess@kmlhs.org.

We're excited that three KML Federation schools have chess clubs:
  • Good Shepherd in West Bend
  • Christ Alone in Mequon/Thiensville
  • St. Lucas in Kewaskum
St. Lucas will host its 2nd annual invitational chess tournament on Saturday, January 19. Players and teams from grades K-12 are welcome. Stay tuned for more information on that.

Watch for information and announcements on KML federation chess right here!

Saturday, June 23, 2018

2018 KML Chess Camp

We completed our 5th annual camp in June. This year we hosted 23 campers, Beginners and Intermediates, with 8 helpers. We had a great teaching ratio for learning chess! We appreciate the KML students and alumni who help each year and make it possible to teach so many young campers.

Keep playing chess... Practice = improvement! If you want to play online with other KML Chess players, friends and alumni, go to chess.com and search for "KML Chess Club."  

Here are some scenes from our 2018 camp:

Beginner Section

Intermediate Section








Monday, March 19, 2018

KML Chess Players Perform Well at State

KML Varsity A placed 5th in division 2 at the state scholastic chess tournament. In addition, 6 Charger players from our two teams medaled (winning 3 or more out of 5 rounds), and every player had at least one win to contribute to the team effort.

RECAP:
Varsity A played in division 2 and finished 5th of 12 teams scoring 3 wins in 5 rounds.
  • Ted medaled on board 1 with 4 wins in 5 rounds and was one win away from being board champ. (The board champ scored a perfect 5.)
  • Olivia medaled on board 2 with 3 wins and was one win away from being board co-champ (The board champ scored 4).
  • Luke finished with 2.5 wins including crucial results that got us to our 3 team wins.
  • Dylan ended one of his games in spectacular fashion – a stalemate that gave our team a win. Our hero!
  • Eric played up on Varsity A for the first time. He played well throughout and won his last game which was very needed and gave our team a win, allowing us to place in the top 5 - another hero!
Everyone contributed to the team wins. Getting a crucial combination of individual wins to win a team match takes everyone!

Varsity B finished 6th of 12 teams in division 3, scoring 2.5 in 5 rounds.
  • Xander led the team on board 1 and medaled with 3 wins.
  • Ben medaled with 4 wins and was .5 short of being board champ! He could taste it as he chased it! We're proud of him!
  • Josh put together two wins, a draw and a stalemate to medal and help the team.
  • Andy, in his first team competition, held down board 4 and medaled with 3 wins.
  • Ashley achieved 2 wins on board 5 - a great way to end her season.
For our seniors, it was their final time playing together as a team. Hopefully they'll maintain a lifelong love of the game and teach others. I will miss the seniors very much, but they have trained the up-and-coming players well for KML. Thank you for your service!
Varsity A placed 5th with two medalists.
Varsity B had four medalists and finished 6th.

The team had pizza and devotion with Pastor Ericson at Rising Son Chapel, UW-Oshkosh WELS campus ministry.

Monday, March 5, 2018

Two KML Teams Compete at Milwaukee City Championships

Our Varsity A team took 4th out of 14 schools at the Milwaukee City Championships at USM on Friday. 

Individually Ted and Olivia each continued their climb in their US chess ratings with two quality wins each: Ted went from 1490 >> 1535 and Olivia went from 1284 >> 1320. This was the last rated event our seniors will play for KML, since the state tournament is not rated. Nice strong finish for Ted and Olivia!

Our second team finished 9th of 14 teams in Division 3 and gained some good experience for the future.

We're now getting ready for the state tournament.


Monday, February 5, 2018

KML Chess Falls in Conference Matches, Players Given Conference Honors

KML Chess narrowly lost three conference matches on Saturday vs. Brookfield East, Brookfield Academy and New Berlin West. Our varsity players were able to win games, but putting three wins together in a match eluded us. Scenic Moraine Conference coaches recognized the strength of KML players this season by voting Ted Molkentin to first team all-conference and Olivia Schaenzer most improved player in the league this year. Xander Neuwirth received honorable mention. In the JV section, Josh Weber and Eric Rodell each won 3.5 of their 6 games, placing them in the top 10 of all the JV players at Saturday’s meet.

KML Varsity vs. Brookfield East: Right to left, Xander, Isaac, Luke, Olivia, Ted.
Conference coaches voted Olivia most improved player for her strength as KML's Board 2 player this year. Ted Molkentin was voted 1st Team All-Conference contending on Board 1 this season. Xander Neuwirth received honorable mention.

The team at our last regular season meet (minus Luke and Isaac). Olivia, Xander, Dylan, Josh, Ted, Eric, Ashley.


Friday, February 2, 2018

Most Victories Slip Away at USM Meet

The three Chargers who played among the top boards at Thursday’s USM meet could taste victory, but none of them could come away with a win in their highly competitive games. Of KML’s seven players, only Luke Eisner posted a win, and Ashley Braker achieved a draw. KML players have been worthy opponents this season, and tough games remind us just how sweet the wins are. We’re looking forward to Saturday’s conference meet at Brookfield Academy, where KML will compete at the Varsity and JV levels.

Luke reviews games with Eric and Josh.

Olivia has her opponent on the ropes, but could not pull off the win.

Olivia, Isaac and Eric all contend on top boards.

MEET RESULTS:

1st   BrkfEa    7309
2nd  USM  6411
3rd  MSL  6146
4th  REAGAN    6071
5th  Wisconsin Lutheran  5849
6th  Tosa East  5774
7th   KING   5367
8th   RUHS  3440
9th   DMNCN  1978
10th  KMLHS  1176
11th   MKE EX 0



Wednesday, January 10, 2018

KML Bests Kewaskum in Home Match

With the strength of five seniors, KML varsity chess defeated Kewaskum in a match hosted at KML today. KML achieved wins from Ted on board 1, Olivia on board 2, and Luke on board 3. Isaac and Xander ended in draws on boards 4 and 5. The future of chess at both KML and Kewaskum is strong – with an additional 11 JV games played to grow experience of newer players. KML won 7 and drew one of those JV games, including wins from Ryan (an 8th grader) and Jake (a 7th grader). And almost every player took notation, which means we can learn from the games played tonight. Great job, Chargers!






Friday, January 5, 2018

KML Chess Places Sixth at USM Meet

In a 13-school meet with more than 120 players, KML chess players achieved four individual wins and a team score that led to a sixth place finish overall. Ted Molkentin and Olivia Schaenzer led the point scoring for KML. Dylan Schulz and Eric Rodell also contributed wins. Olivia gained significant rating points and continues her impressive and steady climb to a USCF rating now over 1300. 

Team results are as follows:

1st Brookfield Academy    6632
2nd Brookfield East   5985
3rd  Tosa East  5613
4th  Wisconsin Lutheran    5373
5th  REAGAN  5324
6th  KMLHS  4947
7th  USM    3726
8th   RUHS  3699
9th   KING  3341
10th  DMNCN  3278
11th  MSL  3202
12th  MKE EX 890
13th  Bay View 500

The Chargers host Kewaskum on Wednesday, January 10 in a home match beginning at 3:30 at KML.

Sophomore Eric Rodell.
Senior Luke Eisner.

Junior Josh Weber.

Seniors Ted Molkentin and Olivia Schaenzer.