2025 Illinois All Grade Championship
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- Written by Jacob Plotnick - Editor in Chief Jacob Plotnick - Editor in Chief
2025 Illinois All Grade Championship
The Illinois Chess Association is happy to congratulate Emily Dawson from Greater Peoria Chess Association for brilliantly organizing our 2025 Illinois All Grade Championship at the historic Pere Marquette Hotel in Peoria, Illinois on November 15, 2025.
The tournament had thirteen sections: 2nd through 8th grade, while kindergarten was combined with 1st grade, each getting their own awards. Each grade for High School represented 9th through 12th grade. In total, almost 300 kids participated.
Kindergarten through third grade had a g/30;d5 for 5 rounds
Fourth grade and fifth grade had a g/45;d5 for 4 rounds
Sixth grade through high school had a g/60;d5 for 4 rounds
Listed below are the results for the different sections:
12th grade, Senior in High School
Washington Community High School senior Brandon Adams secured the top 3.5/4 score in the 12th Grade section with a fourth-round victory over schoolmate Landon Scott. Classmates Samuel Zekany and Nicholas Winchell, secured a runner-up tie with 3.0’s, Samuel drawing Brandon in round three, Nicholas losing to the champion in round two. Brandon increased his rating 78 points to 533 in the event.
The 12th grade had 7 players.
Below are the results for all 7 players.
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11th grade, Junior in High School
In the 11th Grade section, Arnav Gupta of Palatine Fremd High School and Savan Giri of Peoria-area Dunlap High School shared the top 3.5 score, drawing head-to-head in the third round. Arnav’s rating dropped to 1559, down slightly, while Savan boosted his rating 53 points to 1140.
The 11th grade had 11 players.
Below are the results for all 11 players.
10th grade, Sophomore in High School
10th Grade competition also saw a shared championship with 3.5/4, as Dunlap’s Andres Maldonado and classmate Nathan Pulley both enjoyed three wins and a draw, but did not face-off head-to-head. Andres added a point to his previous 1492 rating while Nathan enhanced his rating 129 points to 996.
The 10th grade had 10 players.
Below are the results for all 10 players.
9th grade, Freshman in High School
Dunlap’s Varun Gurramkonda defeated Normal Community’s Srikar Jayam in the final round of the 9th Grade section to finish with a perfect 4.0/4. Varun’s rating climbed to 1886, up 17 points. Srikar, the highest rated entry of any player in the tournament saw his rating decline 14 points from 1931, as the freshman finished in a four-way tie for second.
The 9th grade had 18 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2 points out of 4.
8th grade
St Philomena (Peoria) classmates Ben Ibeck and Evan Van Ryn were co-Eighth Grade champions, notching perfect 4.0 scores. Lucas Mideros of Champaign’s Next Generation was third with 3.5/4 .
The 8th grade had 40 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 3 points out of 4.
7th grade
Top-rated Sean Pepper scored the lone 4.0 for 7th Graders, bringing the championship trophy back to Peoria’s Reservoir Gifted School. A three-way tie for runner-up included Srivibhav Rayasam of Dunlap Middle, Lohith Reddy Gongati of Normal Chiddix and Kaushi Dheeravath of Bloomington’s Evans Junior High.
The 7th grade had 43 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 3 points out of 4.
6th grade
Dunlap’s Nabhya Shah brought the highest rating into 6th Grade competition and finished 4.0/4, ahead of a four-way pack at 3.5
The 6th grade had 38 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2.5 points out of 4.
5th grade
Fifth-grader Rowan Neye of Oak Terrace Elementary in Highwood posted the lone 5.0/5 tally, ahead of a four-pack of downstaters at 4.0.
The 5th grade had 35 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 3 points out of 4.
4th grade
Naperville’s Eesha Kumar of Peterson Elementary was the 4th Grade champion thanks to a fifth-round draw against challenger Tanish Sen of Normal’s Grove Elementary. With the draw, Eesha finished 4.5/5 while Tanish finished in a two-way tie for runner-up with Naperville Patterson’s Brendan Raferty.
The 4th grade had 19 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2.5 points out of 4.
3rd grade
Third grade competition saw Peterson’s Samarth Gupta of Naperville post the lone 5.0/5 score, ahead of co-runners-up Larin Zeff Rajeev and Yurman Yesuntumur, both with 4.0’s. Larin attends Peoria’s Wilder-Waite and Turman is a student of Earl Pritchett of Buffalo Grove.
The 3rd grade had 20 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2.5 points out of 4.
2nd grade
Normal’s Vis Santhoshrajan was the solo 5.0/5 scorer in 2nd Grade chess, ahead of runners-up Deekshith Bravin and Shamuel Daniel Raj, both of Dunlap’s Hickory Grove, who compiled 4.0’s. Vis of Normal’s Grove Elementary beat Deekshith in the third round and Shamuel in the fourth round. It was Deekshith’s first rated event.
The 2nd grade had 19 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2.5 points out of 4.
Combined Kindergarten and 1st grade
Kindergarteners and First Graders were combined for competition purposes, but separate awards were distributed. Nonetheless, kindergarteners were competitive in the 15-player section. Abir Sumbhate of Normal’s Thomas Metcalf was First Grade Champion with a 4.5 tally, drawing Peoria Academy Kindergartner Vijayav Reddivari in the final round. Vijayav was crowned the state Kindergartner Champion, while Meera Patel of Washington’s Lincoln Grade School was the runner-up with a 3.5 score.
The Combined Kindergarten and 1st grade had 15 players.
Below are the results for all players in the kindergarten and 1st grade combined section.
Linked here is a complete rating report cross-table for the event. Following these links, you can view the full results across any sections instead of the abbreviated standings above.
Once again, we want to congratulate everybody who participated and gave it their best in the tournament and to congratulate Emily Dawson from Greater Peoria Chess Association for running the tournament so smoothly on behalf of the Illinois Chess Association.
Illinois' other annual scholastic championship, the two-day K-8's, will be held in March 2026 in upstate Schaumburg.