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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
- Published: 20 February 2025 20 February 2025
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:
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
- Published: 15 January 2025 15 January 2025
January 2025 Top 100 Youth
Welcome & congratulations to Nora Maxfield (515) and Frankie Kirkman (452), who made the national Top 100 Girls.
Three Illinois Players selected to the 2025 All American Team
- Details
- Written by Jacob Plotnick - Editor / Staff Reporter Jacob Plotnick - Editor / Staff Reporter
- Published: 20 December 2024 20 December 2024
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
- Published: 13 December 2024 13 December 2024
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
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:
9th - SHANE ASBRA
11th - RAJINDER SINGH ATLURI
9th - JAMES BEDNARZ
9th - PIERCE BLANCHARD
10th - SOHAN CHAMARTHI
11th - ARITRA JANA
11th - LUCAS LAZARO
11th - GRIFFIN LEWIS
2nd - ADHVIK MOHAN
K - ANVITHA MOHAN
6th - ANISHA SAHA
4th - MADHUVANTI SATHISH
11th - SAMUEL TAN
10th - ISHAAN TANNEERU
K - ALEXANDER WU
10th - YUXUAN XIE
12th - IMMANUEL ZEREGA
12th 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
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
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.
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-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.
Picture courtesy of his parents.
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
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FIDE WORLD CADET CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024
- Details
- Written by WJS Director - Editor's note Jacob Plotnick WJS Director - Editor's note Jacob Plotnick
- Published: 03 December 2024 03 December 2024
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. 
Photo courtesy of Huijun Feng
Elizabeth Xia scored 8.0 in the Girls U8, finishing tied for fourth (3 way)
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.
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 8th place in the Harring (Girls) and Stella came in 4th in the Harring (Girls) sections