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Illinois High School Association (IHSA) - Chess State Championship 2025

Details: Written by Jacob Plotnick - Editor in Chief Jacob Plotnick - Editor in Chief

Illinois High School Association (IHSA)

Chess State Championship 2025

Peoria, Illinois February 14-15, 2025

Firstly, I’d like to thank the organizers and the directors, along with all the players, for making this edition of the IHSA State Championship the best it could’ve been.

The tournament consisted of the 128 best high school teams across the state, who all competed in their respective sectional events two weeks prior. Now, onto the results:

128 teams played in the tournament – after the first three rounds only 16 teams remained undefeated.

Round 4; Final 16 undefeated

Table 8: Dunlap defeated Lemont (H.S.) 44 vs 24

Table 7: Evanston (Twp) defeated Northbrook (Glenbrook North) 55 vs 13

Table 6: Naperville (Neuqua) defeated Glenview (Glenbrook South) 48.5 vs 19.5

Table 5: Lincolnshire (Stevenson) defeated Naperville (North) 46.5 vs 21.5

Table 4: Hoffman Estates (Conant) defeated Chicago (Lane) 43.5 vs 24.5

Table 3: Palatine (Fremd) defeated Aurora (Illinois Math and Science Academy) 47 vs 21

Table 2: Chicago (Whitney Young) defeated Hinsdale (Central) 42 vs 26

Table 1: Chicago (Payton) defeated Aurora (Waubonsie Valley) 45 vs 23

Round 5; Final 8 undefeated

Table 4: Naperville (Neuqua) defeated Hoffman Estates (Conant) 42 vs 26

Table 3: Lincolnshire (Stevenson) defeated Chicago (Payton) 48 vs 20

Table 2: Palatine (Fremd) defeated Dunlap 46.5 vs 21.5

Table 1: Chicago (Whitney Young) defeated Evanston (Twp.) 37 vs 31

Round 6; Final 4 undefeated

Table 2: Palatine (Fremd) defeated Naperville (Neuqua Valley) 51.5 vs 16.5

Table 1: Chicago (Whitney Young) defeated Lincolnshire (Stevenson) 38 vs 30

Round 7, Final round; Final 2 undefeated

Table 1. Chicago (Whitney Young) defeated Palatine (Fremd) 49.5 vs 18.5

Chicago (Whitney Young) came in first, the only undefeated team with 7 points to become the IHSA State Champion for 2024-2025.

There was a seven way tie for second place, here are the list of the seven with positions determined by tie-Break, all of these teams were awarded plaques for their efforts to achieve 6 points out of 7 – except for second and third place who received trophies for their respective placing.

Position	Points	Tie-Breaks	Team
2	6	119.5	Lincolnshire (Stevenson)
3	6	109	Palatine (Fremd)
4	6	108.1	Chicago (Payton)
5	6	103.5	Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)
6	6	83.8	Dunlap
7	6	83.4	Evanston (Twp.)
8	6	81.9	Aurora (Illinois Math and Science Academy)

Here is the winning team:

A group of people posing for a photoAI-generated content may be incorrect.

Courtesy of IHSA

Additionally, Glenn Panner from Chess Weekend supplied individual award medals to all players with at least 5.5 points out of 7. Bronze was awarded with 5.5, Silver with 6, and gold with 6.5 or 7 points. Around 100 players received medals out of 1200.

The following participants were awarded medals:

Name	Points	Medal
Anjaneya Rao	7.0	Gold
Ekansh Mehrotra	7.0	Gold
Michael Li	7.0	Gold
Ochirbat Lkhagvajamts	7.0	Gold
Vinay Sridhar	7.0	Gold
William Cahill	7.0	Gold
Arjav Patel	6.5	Gold
Ben Popilek	6.5	Gold
David Chen	6.5	Gold
David Li	6.5	Gold
Debarghya Das	6.5	Gold
Jad Khoury	6.5	Gold
Sadkrith Malladi	6.5	Gold
Trifon Megremis	6.5	Gold
Aaron Hyler	6.0	Silver
Aaron Kwan	6.0	Silver
Ade Arroyo	6.0	Silver
Anshul Shetty	6.0	Silver
Aryan Shrigadi	6.0	Silver
Blake Wall	6.0	Silver
Daniel Avila	6.0	Silver
Enkhjin Namuunbayar	6.0	Silver
Eric Gorokhovsky	6.0	Silver
Eric Shpigelskiy	6.0	Silver
Ian Guo	6.0	Silver
Jack Modica	6.0	Silver
Jacob Plotnick	6.0	Silver
Jake Wittman	6.0	Silver
Jakub Laczek	6.0	Silver
Jeremiah Esios	6.0	Silver
Jeyson Vasquez	6.0	Silver
Joseph Sokan	6.0	Silver
Joshua Wang	6.0	Silver
Kavin Bendre	6.0	Silver
Koji Lemke	6.0	Silver
Kolawole Dawodu	6.0	Silver
Matthew Simpson	6.0	Silver
Nimay Piparia	6.0	Silver
Palash Gupta	6.0	Silver
Reese Black	6.0	Silver
Salvio Benoy	6.0	Silver
Sedrik Punzalan	6.0	Silver
Soham Dongre	6.0	Silver
Sreekar Gangavarapu	6.0	Silver
Vikram Oberai	6.0	Silver
William DeAllaume	6.0	Silver
William Wang	6.0	Silver
William Wang	6.0	Silver
Yuvraj Chennareddy	6.0	Silver
Aayush Thakkar	5.5	Bronze
Aiden Petersen	5.5	Bronze
Ajani Sutherland	5.5	Bronze
Alex Lazarowicz	5.5	Bronze
Alex Palacios	5.5	Bronze
Andre Dzwiniel	5.5	Bronze
Andrew Radnaasuren	5.5	Bronze
Andy Cao	5.5	Bronze
Benjamin McKendall	5.5	Bronze
Brandon Adams	5.5	Bronze
Brandon Van	5.5	Bronze
Cole Harris	5.5	Bronze
David Yong	5.5	Bronze
Dominic Millar	5.5	Bronze
Drake Callear	5.5	Bronze
Gavin Snopko	5.5	Bronze
Geri Paray	5.5	Bronze
Immanuel Sanchez	5.5	Bronze
Immanuel Zerega	5.5	Bronze
Ivan Saldana	5.5	Bronze
Jack Flynn	5.5	Bronze
Jack Ramsey	5.5	Bronze
James Montella	5.5	Bronze
Johan Cervantes	5.5	Bronze
Josh Reece	5.5	Bronze
Josh Zhao	5.5	Bronze
Kaleb Ashworth	5.5	Bronze
Kenneth Murray	5.5	Bronze
Konrad Kremper	5.5	Bronze
Kushan Bonela	5.5	Bronze
Kyle Bresingham	5.5	Bronze
Lyndon Proby	5.5	Bronze
Manan Syal	5.5	Bronze
Nelson Cui	5.5	Bronze
Nemotillo Parpiev	5.5	Bronze
Nolan Deines	5.5	Bronze
Omar Soliman	5.5	Bronze
Pedro Garcia	5.5	Bronze
Peter O'Brien	5.5	Bronze
Pierce Wei	5.5	Bronze
Reilly Meeker	5.5	Bronze
Ria Raj	5.5	Bronze
Rishi Murali	5.5	Bronze
Ryan Morgan	5.5	Bronze
Sahil Sabzaali	5.5	Bronze
Samantha Arnold	5.5	Bronze
Sergio Gutierrez	5.5	Bronze
Somil Bose	5.5	Bronze
Thomas Frame	5.5	Bronze
William McCloskey	5.5	Bronze
Zaid Ghaffari	5.5	Bronze

Linked here is a complete cross-table for the event, courtesy of IHSA

January 2025 Top Youth

Details: Written by WJS Director WJS Director

January 2025 Top 100 Youth

Welcome & congratulations to Nora Maxfield (515) and Frankie Kirkman (452), who made the national Top 100 Girls.

US Rank	Name	Rating
Top Girls Age 7 and Under
1	Tang, Emily Jiaying	1397
69	NORA MAXFIELD	515
88	Kirkman, Frankie	452
Top Age 7 and Under
11	Tang, Emily Jiaying	1397
26	Li, Ethan	1205
Top Girls Age 8
4	Xia, Elizabeth	1773
5	Xin, Stella	1743
27	VALERIE YAN	1132
29	Gopal, Sri Akshika	1115
38	Kumar, Eesha	1052
78	Batmunkh, TSelmeg	792
87	ANGELICA CAIRO	745
Top Age 8
1	Li, Aiden Linyuan	2058
10	Xia, Elizabeth	1773
17	Xin, Stella	1743
69	Munkhsuld, Bishrelt	1308
Top Girls Age 9
20	Nali, Sahasra	1364
40	Biswas, Avidha	1078
51	Amireddy, Sadhvi	1029
63	Mahesh, Praakruthi	969
74	Banoth, Shanaya	900
Top Age 9
3	Yu, Matthew	1955
35	Tang, Edward Jiayi	1708
76	Kumar, Advik	1509
Top Girls Age 10
65	Bothe, Devaanshi	1029
Top Age 10
77	Silvestre, Lucas	1685
Top Girls Age 11
20	Zhan, Amy	1600
47	Sun,Yuanli	1298
Top Age 11
29	Rajkumar, Sachit Srinivas	1986
Top Girls Age 12
21	Chen, Victoria	1697
37	Bowman, Deborah	1578
42	Saha, Anisha	1534
Top Age 12
12	Khanbutaev, Artemii	2136
17	Baker, Aidan	2075
20	Tikhomirov, Matthew	2050
55	JUSTIN LEE	1932
55	Pittala, Ashvath Reddy	1932
Top Girls Age 13
8	Wang, Gaofei	1843
53	Sharad, Suhana	1407
54	VANSHIKA BANDARU	1404
59	Jiandani, Mehak S	1342
73	Ranjan, Nysa	1230
84	Hari, Nila	1137
Top Age 13
81	Zhang, Ryan	1912
83	MAHENDRA LAVANUR	1905
Top Girls Age 14
34	Manimaran, Shivani	1725
77	Bothe, Nysa	1245
Top Age 14
17	Rao, Anjaneya Sripathy	2251
21	Shetty, Anshul P	2225
73	Chennareddy, Yuvraj	1999
89	Das, Debarghya	1943
Top Girls Age 15
19	Pham, Linda	1773
31	Girish, Niyathi	1634
75	Sheridan, Wayra	1162
98	Gansukh, Megan	1043
Top Age 15
50	Mehrotra, Ekansh	2128
80	Feng, Jay	2030
Top Girls Age 16
26	Raj, Ria	1747
48	SOLOMIIA KUCHER	1492
Top Age 16
1	Mardov, Dimitar	2588
53	Gangavarapu, Sreekar	2113
74	Dmitriev, Andrey	2061
Top Girls Age 17
19	MERRILL LEE	1715
21	Himani Musku	1666
29	Oberai, Anisha	1585
32	Adusumalli, Saanvi	1548
62	Pashyan, Sofia	1205
65	JOSEPHINE GRACE SWAN	1200
80	LUCIA J SCRIMENTI	1066
82	Liu, Catherine	1043
Top Age 17
29	Xu, Arthur	2237
58	Zhao, Alex	2127
61	Malladi, Sadkrith	2110
88	Vikram Oberai	2055
99	WHITMAN KOSAK	2018
Top Girls Age 18
2	Wisniowski, Natalie	2106
7	Cortez, Rebecca	1973
15	Luster, Shakira Makayla	1789
45	Schneider, Rosali	1319
68	Wong, Megan E	989
Top Age 18
9	Kaplan, Avi Harrison	2418
48	Heller, Jack	2141
64	Wisniowski, Natalie	2106
94	Anthony Chen	2000

Three Illinois Players selected to the 2025 All American Team

Details: Written by Jacob Plotnick - Editor / Staff Reporter Jacob Plotnick - Editor / Staff Reporter

Three Illinois Players selected to the 2025 All American Team

US Chess has announced the 2025 All American Chess Team. Each member of the team received team jackets and plaques for their achievements. Since 1987 being selected to the team has been one of the highest honors attainable for players aged 18 and under. The age groups with minimum ratings are as follows: Age 18 minimum rating of 2500, Age 17 minimum rating of 2475, Age 16 minimum rating of 2450, Age 15 minimum rating of 2425, Age 14 minimum rating of 2400, Age 13 minimum rating of 2350, Age 12 minimum rating of 2300, Age 11 minimum rating of 2225, Age 10 minimum rating of 2159, Age 9 minimum rating of 2050 and Age 8 and under minimum rating of 1950.

Illinois had 3 out the 58 players entering this year’s class of the 2025 All American Team.

We had one player in the Age 15 group and two in the Age 8 and under group.

Dimitar Mardov is in the Age 15 group.

Picture courtesy of his parents

Aiden LI was in the under 8 group

Picture courtesy of his parents.

Matthew Yu is in the under 8 group

Picture courtesy of his parents.

The Illinois Chess Association want to congratulate the three Illinois players selected to the 2025 class. The complete US Chess article can be found here.

2024 National K-12 Grade Champonships

Details: Written by Jacob Plotnick - Editor / Staff Reporter - Edwin Walker Data Jacob Plotnick - Editor / Staff Reporter - Edwin Walker Data

2024 National K-12 Grade Champonships

The USCF expertly ran their 2024 National K-12 Grade Championship last week in National Harbor, Maryland from December 6-8, 2024

k12

The tournament had thirteen sections: Kindergarten and grades one to twelve and consisted of over 2700 players from 45 states. Of those 2700, Illinois sent 77 players across all age ranges. The following players participated in their first US Chess National event at this event:

9^th - SHANE ASBRA

11^th - RAJINDER SINGH ATLURI

9^th - JAMES BEDNARZ

9^th - PIERCE BLANCHARD

10^th - SOHAN CHAMARTHI

11^th - ARITRA JANA

11^th - LUCAS LAZARO

11^th - GRIFFIN LEWIS

2^nd - ADHVIK MOHAN

K - ANVITHA MOHAN

6^th - ANISHA SAHA

4^th - MADHUVANTI SATHISH

11^th - SAMUEL TAN

10^th - ISHAAN TANNEERU

K - ALEXANDER WU

10^th - YUXUAN XIE

12^th - IMMANUEL ZEREGA

12^th Grade Championship Section

Illinois was represented by 13 players including:

Avi Kaplan

Joseph Dai

Rebecca Cortez

Somil Bose

Evan Haddox

Immanuel Zerega

Daniel Dligach

Alexander Alvarez

William Zalmezak

Akshay Naik

Yinuo Huang

Lucia Scrimenti

Weijun Bao

Of whom, Avi Kaplan won the section with 6.0 points

Picture courtesy of Avi’s parents

[Event "National K-12 Grade Championships"] [Site "National Harbor, MD"] [Date "2024-12-06"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Massiah, Maxwell"] [Black "Kaplan, Avi Harrison"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1982"] [WhiteFideId "39908542"] [BlackElo "2378"] [BlackTitle "FM"] [BlackFideId "30934559"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A45"] [Opening "Trompowsky Attack"] [StudyName "2024 National K-12 Grade Championships"] [ChapterName "Massiah, Maxwell - Kaplan, Avi Harrison"] 
 1. d4 { [%clk 1:26:03] } 1... Nf6 { [%clk 1:30:00] } 2. Bg5 { [%clk 1:25:54] } 2... c5 { While many of the top boards featured the higher-rated player opting for safer opening choices, Kaplan takes the fight right to White in this Trompowsky. } { [%clk 1:30:00] } 3. d5 { [%clk 1:25:54] } (3. Bxf6 { This is the main approach to the Trompowsky, damaging Black's pawns before they have a chance to do anything about it. } 3... gxf6 4. d5 Qb6 { is the old main line. }) 3... d6 { [%clk 1:30:00] } 4. Nc3 { White prepares for e2-e4, but this is actually a bit inconsistent with the threat of Bg5xf6, as ... e7xf6 introduces ideas of ... f6-f5 to undermine White's center. } { [%clk 1:25:54] } 4... h6 { [%clk 1:30:00] } 5. Bh4?! { Already, Black should be thrilled with the opening choice. } { [%clk 1:22:20] } (5. Bc1 { This is the engine's favorite move, and it's even been played at the top level. The reasoning, simply enough, is that Black might not have chose to play what is essentially an Old Benoni with 1. .... c5 if they had the choice, and that the resulting closed-center position is forgiving of the tempo loss of Bc1-g5-c1. }) 5... g5 { [%clk 1:25:37] } 6. Bg3 { White's bishop is "caged" and out of play. Since Black does not need to play for ... e7-e6, the d6-pawn is strong and thus the g3-bishop is misplaced opposite it. } { [%clk 1:22:11] } 6... Nh5 { Not the sharpest move, but a bishop pair is still a bishop pair! Instead, the thematic } { [%clk 1:24:44] } (6... b5 { carves out massive space on the queenside, and } 7. Nxb5?! Qa5+ 8. Nc3 Ne4 { exploits White's misplaced dark-squared bishop, as now } 9. Qd3 { is well-met with } 9... Bg7! $17 { when White really wishes the bishop could come to the d2-square! }) 7. e3 { [%clk 1:19:06] } 7... Nxg3 { [%clk 1:24:07] } 8. hxg3 { [%clk 1:19:06] } 8... Bg7 { [%clk 1:23:44] } 9. Nf3 { [%clk 1:11:32] } 9... Qa5 { [%clk 1:21:21] } 10. Qd2 { [%clk 1:11:14] } 10... a6 { [%clk 1:20:59] } 11. Be2 { [%clk 1:10:47] } 11... b5 { Black's pieces will comfortably develop on the queenside now. } { [%clk 1:20:24] } 12. O-O { [%clk 1:08:22] } 12... O-O { [%clk 1:17:27] } 13. Nd1 { [%clk 1:05:43] } 13... Qc7!? { Typically the side with less space (and more bishops) is happy to trade queens. But the position is very dynamic, and after Nc3-d1, White's "lead" in development hardly amounts to an initiative. } { [%clk 1:15:11] } (13... Qxd2 14. Nxd2 f5 $17 { is consistent with having played to win the bishop pair. }) 14. e4 { [%clk 1:04:34] } 14... e6 { [%clk 1:11:23] } 15. c3 { [%clk 1:02:00] } (15. a4 b4 16. Bc4 $14 { was a chance to keep Black's pieces tangled, as now both ... Nb8-d7 and ... Bc8-b7 lose the e6-pawn. }) 15... exd5 { [%clk 1:11:23] } 16. exd5 { [%clk 1:01:49] } 16... Nd7 { [%clk 1:08:38] } 17. Ne3 { [%clk 0:59:41] } 17... f5 { The center is clogged by White's d-pawn, so Black begins the kingside attack. } { [%clk 1:06:48] } 18. Qc2 { [%clk 0:48:49] } 18... Nb6 { This is the critical moment. White's d-pawn is under pressure and must be addressed. } { [%clk 1:05:26] } 19. Rfd1?! { White chooses to defend the d-pawn, which turns into a continued commitment to passive defense. } { [%clk 0:36:40] } (19. Bd3! { was necessary, not because counterplay is always better than defense, but because it certainly is here. } 19... Qf7 { seems to both defend the f5-pawn and further hammer the d5-pawn, but } 20. g4! $13 { gives White control of a long open line, totally changing the character of the play and arguing that Black's kingside pawn pushes are less justified now. } { [%csl Gh2][%cal Gf3h2,Rf5g4,Rf5f4,Yc2h7] }) 19... Qf7 { [%clk 1:01:05] } 20. Ne1 { Realizing that ... Bc8-b7 is coming, White prepares Be2-f3 for further defense! } { [%clk 0:31:32] } 20... Bd7 { Surprise! Black keeps the f5-pawn well-guarded as to limit any intended counterplay after ... Bc8-b7. } { [%clk 0:57:51] } 21. Bf3?! { White has managed to keep the pawn, but he has lost any semblance of counterplay and his pieces do not coordinate well. Black's last move 20. ... Bd7 really reinforces this discrepancy. } { [%clk 0:29:48] } 21... Rae8 { [%clk 0:57:01] } 22. Rac1 { [%clk 0:28:10] } 22... h5 { With no ability to use the e-file or the b1-h7 diagonal, the center is functionally closed as far as White is concerned. This justifies Kaplan's slow expanse of pawns, as there is no quick way to use any of the resulting weak squares. } { [%clk 0:53:59] } 23. Be2 { [%clk 0:18:24] } 23... Bh6 { [%clk 0:47:45] } 24. Ra1 { [%clk 0:16:16] } 24... Kh8 { [%clk 0:42:19] } 25. a4 { [%clk 0:14:36] } 25... g4 { With an attack on the e3-knight. } { [%clk 0:39:28] } 26. Nf1 { [%clk 0:12:49] } 26... Qe7 $19 { This is a striking position. White's bishop is attacked twice, and after Be2-d3 it is trapped by ... c5-c4. And yet, White has no ways to safely defend it. A fantastic display of positional dominance by Kaplan! } { [%clk 0:37:57] } 27. axb5 { [%clk 0:10:12] } 27... Qxe2 { [%clk 0:37:36] } 28. Rxa6 { [%clk 0:09:27] } 28... Bxb5 { [%clk 0:36:41] } 29. Qxe2 { [%clk 0:09:27] } 29... Bxe2 { [%clk 0:36:41] } 30. Rxb6 { [%clk 0:09:27] } 30... Bxd1 { [%clk 0:36:41] } 31. Rxd6 { [%clk 0:08:54] } 31... Rxe1 { [%clk 0:36:41] } 32. Rxh6+ { [%clk 0:08:54] } 32... Kg7 { [%clk 0:36:41] } 33. Re6 { [%clk 0:08:54] } 33... Be2 { [%clk 0:36:41] } 34. Kh2 { [%clk 0:08:54] } 34... Rxf1 { [%clk 0:36:21] } 35. Rxe2 { [%clk 0:08:54] } 35... Ra8 { [%clk 0:36:21] } 36. d6 { [%clk 0:08:40] } 36... Raa1 { [%clk 0:36:21] } 37. d7 { [%clk 0:08:40] } 37... Rh1# { 0-1 Black wins. } { [%clk 0:36:21] } 0-1

Illinois Swept the class prizes for 1000-1299

Immanuel Zerega won 1st place

Note from coach: Manu (Immanuel) Zerega broke his right wrist the week before the tournament, so he had to notate using his left hand

Daniel Dligach won 2nd place

dan3

Daniel Supplied last game postion and his medal

Lucia Scrimenti won 3rd place

Weijun Bao won the class prize for under 1000 in the 12 Grade Championship.

Picture

Finally, Evanston Township High School came in 5th place as a team.

evanston

Picture courtesy of the High School

Players left to right: Lucia Scrimenti, Wayra Sheridan, Sam Kemeny, Will Zalmezak, Ryan Cowan, Adam Elgat, Manu Zerega, Adam Sklar, Alastair Keely-Walker, Lucas Lazaro, Daniel Dligach, Asa Lieberman, Griffin Lewis, Shane Asbra, Somil Bose.

11th Grade Championship section

Illinois was represented by 11 players including:

David Chen

Adam Elgat

Dimitrios Deligiannis

Alastrir Keely-Walker

Lucas Lazaro

Nithin Ramasamy

Griffin Lewis

Samuel Tan

Ryan Cowan

Rajinder Atluri

Aritta Jana

Samuel Tan won 3rd place class for 1000-1299

Lucas Lazaro won 1st place class for under 1000

Ryan Cowan won 2nd place class for under 1000

Pictures

10th Grade Championship section

Illinois was represented by 13 players including:

Justin Zhang

Asa Lieberman

William Wang

Theodore Han

Micah Mostovoy

Andy Cao

Yuxuan Xie

Atharva Naik

Ishann Tanneeru

Sohan Chamarthi

Vincent Lan

Joanna Marsten

Adam SklarYuxuan

Theodore Han won 1st place class 1300-1599

theodore

Theodore-s picture courtesy of his parents

Micah Mostovoy won 1st place class 1100-1299

Sohan Chamarthi won 2nd place class under 1000.

Sohan's picture courtesy of his parents

9th Grade Championship section

Illinois was represented by 5 players including:

Timur Turba

Shane Asbra

James Bednarz

Wayra Sheridan

Pierce Blanchard

8th Grade Championship section

There were not any Illinois players who represented at the tournament.

7th Grade Championship section

Illinois was represented by 2 players including:

Ashvath Pittala

Arjun Kota

6th Grade Championship section

Illinois was represented by 1 player:

Anisha Saha

5th Grade Championship section

Illinois was represented by 1 player:

Anfad Saran

Anfad Saran won 2nd place class under 1100-1300.

Picture

4th Grade Championship section

Illinois was represented by 2 players including:

Avidhas Biswas

Maduvanti Sathish

3rd Grade Championship section

Illinois was represented by 2 players including:

Aiden Li

Bishrelt Munkshuld

Aiden Li won his section with 6.5 points.

aiden

Picture courtesy of his parents.

[Event "2024 National K-12 Grade Championships: 3rd Grade"] [Site "National Harbor, MD"] [Date "2024-12-06"] [Round "1.27"] [White "Li, Aiden Linyuan"] [Black "Rohan Iyengar"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2036"] [WhiteFideId "39917487"] [BlackElo "1166"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C65"] [Opening "Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Zukertort Gambit"] [StudyName "2024 National K-12 Grade Championships"] [ChapterName "Li, Aiden Linyuan - Rohan Iyengar"] [Source " https://lichess.org/study/BpCvdq2G/jM8ZilJU "] [Orientation "white"] 
 1. e4 { [%clk 1:30:00] } 1... e5 { [%clk 1:30:00] } 2. Nf3 { [%clk 1:30:00] } 2... Nc6 { [%clk 1:30:00] } 3. Bb5 { [%clk 1:30:00] } 3... Nf6 { [%clk 1:29:53] } 4. O-O { [%clk 1:29:58] } 4... Bc5 { [%clk 1:29:31] } 5. c3 { [%clk 1:29:12] } 5... a6 { [%clk 1:29:02] } 6. Bxc6 { [%clk 1:28:21] } 6... bxc6 { [%clk 1:29:02] } 7. Nxe5 { [%clk 1:27:14] } 7... O-O { [%clk 1:28:55] } 8. d4 { [%clk 1:26:39] } 8... Bb6 { [%clk 1:28:55] } 9. Qf3 { [%clk 1:21:49] } 9... h6 { [%clk 1:27:23] } 10. Nc4 { [%clk 1:18:16] } 10... d5 { [%clk 1:27:21] } 11. e5 { [%clk 1:17:30] } 11... Ne4 { [%clk 1:23:08] } 12. Bf4 { [%clk 1:16:18] } 12... c5 { [%clk 1:19:58] } 13. Rd1 { [%clk 1:13:08] } 13... cxd4 { [%clk 1:18:43] } 14. cxd4 { [%clk 1:11:57] } 14... c5 { [%clk 1:18:35] } 15. dxc5 { [%clk 1:08:10] } 15... Bxc5 { [%clk 1:18:30] } 16. Be3 { [%clk 1:08:10] } 16... Bxe3 17. Nxe3 { [%clk 1:08:07] } 17... Bb7 { [%clk 1:16:10] } 18. Nc3 { [%clk 1:07:38] } 18... Nxc3 { [%clk 1:13:17] } 19. bxc3 { [%clk 1:07:38] } 19... Qc7 { [%clk 1:08:33] } 20. Rab1 { [%clk 1:06:47] } 20... Bc6 { [%clk 1:06:57] } 21. Qg3 $16 { With Ne3-f5 a serious mating threat, Black's position is already on thin ice. } { [%clk 1:06:14] } 21... Qd7?! { Covering the f5-square shows great understanding of White's intended plan, but, unfortunately, that's not enough! } { [%clk 1:03:41] } (21... f6!? { might have been Black's best try, defending the g7-square laterally. But now } { [%cal Gc7g7,Re5f6] } 22. Nf5 fxe5 { only temporarily wins back the pawn, as } { [%cal Gf8f5] } 23. Nxh6+ Kh7 24. Ng4 $16 { secures a lasting initiative due to Black's exposed king. } { [%csl Rh7] }) 22. c4 { Exploiting the pin. } { [%clk 1:04:38] } 22... d4 { This is why Black chose to self-pin with 21. ... Qd7 instead of covering the f5-square with 21. ... Qc8: the d-pawn is protected and now it is passed! } { [%clk 0:56:51] } 23. Rxd4! { This is the tactic that Black missed. } { [%clk 1:04:30] } 23... Qc8 { There's nothing better, as } { [%clk 0:53:04] } (23... Qxd4?? { walks into } 24. Nf5 $18 { when Black cannot both save the queen and stop Qg3xg7 mate! } { [%cal Gf5d4,Gg3g7] }) 24. Rg4 { Up two pawns and with another strong attacker in the mix, Black's position is defenseless. } { [%clk 1:03:56] } 24... g6 { Nobody wants to push pawns in front of their king, but there was no alternative. } { [%clk 0:52:32] } 25. Rh4! { The mature approach. Alternatively, } { [%clk 1:03:56] } (25. Rxg6+ { also wins after } 25... fxg6 26. Qxg6+ Kh8 27. Qxh6+ Kg8 28. Rb6 { [%cal Gb6g6] } 28... Be4 29. Qg5+ Kf7 30. Qf4+ $18 { , but White was correct to not risk it with an unnecessary, albeit flashy, sacrifice. It would be hard to be 100% certain when playing 25. Rxg6+ that 28. Rb6 forced a win. In contrast, White's choice of 25. Rh4 looks no less certain of winning but doesn't cost a rook! }) 25... Kh7 { [%clk 0:52:23] } 26. Ng4 { White uses all of his pieces. 26. Qg5 also worked, but there's something to be said about Li's principled approach. } { [%clk 1:03:50] } 26... h5 { [%clk 0:51:34] } 27. Nf6+ { [%clk 1:03:12] } 27... Kh6 { [%clk 0:51:17] } 28. Qf4+ { [%clk 1:03:09] } 28... Kg7 { [%clk 0:49:46] } 29. Nxh5+ { Finally, Li sacrifices something, but only when the resulting forced mate is easy to be certain of. } { [%clk 1:03:08] } 29... gxh5 { [%clk 0:47:23] } 30. Qg5+ { [%clk 1:03:08] } 30... Kh8 { [%clk 0:47:14] } 31. Rxh5# { 1-0 White wins. } { [%clk 1:03:07] } 1-0

2nd Grade Championship section

Illinois was represented by 1 player

Adhvik Mohan

picture

Advik Mohan won 2nd place class 600-799

1st Grade Championship section

Illinois was not represented

Kindergarten Championship section

Illinois was represented by 2 players including:

Alexander Wu

Anvitha Mohan.

Picture

Alexander Wu won 3rd place class 400-599.

Linked here is a complete pre-tournament registration report for the event, courtesy of US Chess, and the US rating report. Following these links, you can view the full results across any sections instead of the abbreviated standings above.

Once again, we want to congratulate a remarkable turnout from our Illinois Chess Association players and the great assistance of Edwin Walker, head of our Warren Scholars program, for procuring much of the data used to report on.

Finally, congratulations to all the players

If anyone wants an article written or edited, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FIDE WORLD CADET CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024

Details: Written by WJS Director - Editor's note Jacob Plotnick WJS Director - Editor's note Jacob Plotnick

FIDE WORLD CADET CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024

In Montesilvano, Italy from November 15 to November 26 over 700 players, representing over 70 countires particpated in the FIDE World Cadet Championship 2024. The US sent 46 players to compete across the three Open (U-12, U-10, U-8) and three Girls (U-12, U-10, U-8) sections of the 11-round Swiss System event.

Three players were from Illinois Aiden Li, Stella Xin and Elizabeth Xia.

Winning the bronze in the Girls U8 was Stella Xin. Scoring 8.5 out of 11 earning the WCM title. Stella2024WC

Photo courtesy of Huijun Feng

Elizabeth Xia scored 8.0 in the Girls U8, finishing tied for fourth (3 way)

ElizbethWC

Photo courtesy of Elle Yang

Aiden Li scored 8.5 earning fourth, in the Open U8. Aiden had an outstanding perforumance leading 6 out of 6 going into the 7th round.

aidenliWC

Photo courtesy of Elle Yang

All the players were at this year’s ICA youth invitational. Aiden won the Rockefeller (K-5), Elizabeth came in 8^th place in the Harring (Girls) and Stella came in 4^th in the Harring (Girls) sections

Subcategories

Youth in the US Top 100 7

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Illinois Chess Association, Inc.

Youth Chess News

Illinois High School Association (IHSA) - Chess State Championship 2025

January 2025 Top Youth

January 2025 Top 100 Youth

Three Illinois Players selected to the 2025 All American Team

2024 National K-12 Grade Champonships

FIDE WORLD CADET CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024

FIDE WORLD CADET CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024

More Articles ...

Subcategories

Youth in the US Top 100 7