What is the Warren Junior Scholar Program?

The Warren Program was founded over 30 years ago by former ICA President Helen Warren.

The mission of the Warren Junior Scholar Program is to discover and develop the highest-potential youth chess players in Illinois, in order to be competitive on a national and international stage.

Players chosen for the Warren program have innate talent, and the intensive mentoring provided by the program gives them opportunity and reason to work hard. Through in-depth study and competition in chess, students acquire skills and habits that prepare them to succeed in many fields as adults, including high-level analytical thinking and problem-solving skills, discipline, perseverance, responsible decision-making and the ability to overcome setbacks and learn from mistakes.

In 2015, the ICA Rising Stars platform was added as a talent developmental pool to identify and prepare youth players who with some nurturing show early promise towards eventual qualification for the Warren Scholar Program.

At that time, the Warren Junior Scholar program — and the ICA Rising Stars — were under the direction of Rose Grandy; three years later, Eric Luster took over as WJS/RS Director. Since August 2023, Edwin Walker has been in charge of the program.

Mr. Walker can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If you believe your child may qualify for either the WJS or RS programs, please complete this form to be considered for the next class. Determination of the next class is made in July. Qualifications can be found here. Players already in one of the programs need not complete this form.