Albert Lea Chess Club members, Alex Knudson and Marshall Pederson, earned first and second places, respectively, on Saturday at the Spring Chess Tournament in Mankato.

Organizers awarded Knudson, a senior at Albert Lea High School, a blue ribbon for his top finish in the 12th-grade division and Pederson a red ribbon for his second-place finish in the eighth-grade division.

Pederson, who is actually a sixth-grader at New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Elementary School, ended up in the eighth-grade division through a registration error. He still did well against the older kids.

The tournament was a K-12 event organized by Mankato Community Education/Recreation and was held at Mankato West High School. Awards were given to first through fourth places in each age division.

Knudson and Pederson both participate in the Albert Lea Chess Club which meets every Thursday night from 6 to 8 p.m. at Thorne Crest Retirement Community in Albert Lea.

Anyone interested in learning how to play chess or who is interested in simply having other people to play chess with on a regular basis is invited to be a part of the Albert Lea Chess Club. The club has been in existence for two years.

For more information, visit www.albertleachess.org or contact Jeshua Erickson at 373-1289.