Four Chargers Win at USM Chess Meet

Six KML Chargers racked up four wins good enough for 7^th place at the 12-team USM Chess Meet. Our young Chargers came into the meet ranked 7th based on point-scoring ability and are working on building their individual ratings and the team's ability to climb in the rankings for these meets. Ryan Wirkkula, Jake Kasten, Ethan Heder and Max Banner all scored wins for KML and improved their personal ratings. Our next action is Thursday, January 30 at Brookfield East.

USM MEGAMEET RESULTS 1/16/2020

Brookfield EAST     8788

New Berlin West     5819

Wisconsin Lutheran HS     5664

REAGAN     5239

HARTFORD     4499

Brookfield Academy     4317

KMLHS     3494

Eisenhower     2582

KEWASKUM     1004

Kettle Moraine HS Wales     912

Wauwatosa East     621

Milwaukee HS Arts     0

  

USM     0

SMCA Megameet at Brookfield East

Five KML players (four freshmen, one senior) worked on their ratings at Saturday's Megameet hosted by Brookfield East. Three rounds and a few nice wins for our young team! 

Every match starts with a handshake.

2019-20 Season Opener for KML Chess

Regular season meets have begun with the first at University School Milwaukee. Seven KML players – four of them freshmen and five of them brand-new to competition – earned three wins for 1,568 points for KML, good enough for 9^th place out of 13 teams. With such a young team, KML’s maximum score capability is lower than most other teams. As our players build their ratings, we’ll be capable of climbing the ranks. What makes this coach happy? Our players took notation, so we can replay the games and improve. Way to go, Chargers!

RESULTS OF MEGAMEET 1

1st: Brookfield East 9595 (new record)

2nd: MSL 4687

3rd:  Reagan 4137

4th:  New Berlin 3873

5th:  WI Lutheran HS 3722

6th:  Kewaskum 3711

7th:  Milwaukee King 2247

8th:  Hartford Union 3041

9th:   KMLHS  1618

10th:  Kettle Moraine  1500

11th:  Tosa East  1468

12th:  MHSA 0  (3 players)

13th:  USM  0  (1 player)

Freshmen Ethan Heder and Jake Kasten

Freshman Peter Ma

Freshman Christian Klemann

We found KML alum chess player Sam Helwig assisting the Wisconsin Lutheran High School team.
(Wisco finished 5^th – a nice showing!)

KML Chess at 2019 WI Junior Open

KML Chess in pre-season action at the Wisconsin Junior Open. What a great way to get the season started, playing with some of the best chess players in the state! Shout out to KML Chess alumni Josh Weber and Dylan Schulz for assistant coaching.

End-of-Season Awards for KML Chess

The end-of-season party and awards featured Bughouse and Portal Chess fun, plus these awards:

Letter Winners
Ryan Wirkkula (Varsity)
Maddie Lechmaier (Varsity)
Kimberly Schill (Varsity)
Emmie Lechmaier (JV)
Max Banner (Varsity)
Eric Rodell (Varsity)
Ben Polheber (Varsity)
Josh Weber (Varsity)
Ben Klemp (JV)

Special Awards
Rookie of the Year: Ryan Wirkkula
Workhorse Award: Kimberly Schill
Queen Award: Maddie Lechmaier
Senior Leadership Award: Ben Polheber
Senior Leadership Award: Josh Weber

SEE YOU AT SUMMER CHESS CAMP AT KML, JUNE 10-13! Visit www.kmlhs.org to learn more and register.

KML Chess at the 2019 Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Championships

KML's varsity chess team was seeded in Division 2 this year. Freshman Ryan Wirkkula earned the Board 1 spot, followed by senior Josh Weber on Board 2, senior Ben Polheber on Board 3, freshman Kimberly Schill on Board 4, and junior Max Banner on Board 5. The team won two of their five matches on the weekend, finishing in 8th place.

KML also had three players in the junior varsity section: freshman Emmie Lechmaier, junior Maddie Lechmaier, and junior Eric Rodell. Eric only played on Saturday due to the KML Band & Choir trip. He won three of his games on Saturday, which meant he brought home a medal. Despite being short-handed, the JV team managed to finish 9th.

Under the leadership of our two seniors, these young players grew a lot through the State experience and will come back hungry to win next year. "I learned..." was the theme of the weekend, as well as building mental toughness and the determination to come back after a tough game.

Special thanks to KML alum Dylan Schulz for helping out on the weekend.

2019 KML Chess Players at the State Meet

KML Chess Finishes Regular Season at USM

Four KML chess players won their matches in the final meet of the regular season at University School Milwaukee this week. KML posted wins from freshmen Ryan Wirkkula and Kimberly Schill, senior Josh Weber, and 7th grader Ian Janz. Junior Maddie Lechmaier faced a tough opponent on the 7th board, her biggest opportunity of the season. Although she couldn't pull off the win, she welcomed the challenge. Special congratulations to Josh Weber who won every match he played at USM this season. (On our team, we call that "taking care of business," facing whatever match-up you are given with excellence.)

The Chargers have steadily improved this season, earning rating points and building point-scoring ability as a team through higher ratings. We are now preparing for the state meet, March 23-24 in Oshkosh.

RESULTS OF USM Meet 4

February 21 , 2019 at USM

  

1st:  Brookfield East 8633

2nd: Wisconsin Lutheran 5333

3rd:  Reagan 5328

4th:  Milwaukee School of Languages 4762

5th:  Brookfield Academy 3781

6th:  KMLHS 3623

7th:  USM 3244

8th:  MHSA 766

9th:  Washington 638

Maddie and Ryan on boards 7 and 9.