Montana
Montana Chess Association announces high school champions
BUTTE, Mont. — The Montana Chess Association announced it’s high school champion, or rather champions, this weekend in Butte.
The high school tournament featured Montana’s top 10 high school players, with the winner moving on to the U.S. Open this fall.
Alex Karns from C.M. Russell High School in Great Falls and Thomas Walthall of Loyola Sacred Heart High School in Missoula split the title.
Karns made an upset, winning his second match against Walthall. However, Walthall took home the win in the second to last match of the day.
Montana’s Scholastic Chess director Eric Walthall said both seniors graduate next week and have scholarships to study aerospace engineering.
Karns will represent Montana, competing against 49 other state champions in August.