For Oregon players, you can check here for local or northwest chess tournaments:
For National events, check below:
For Oregon, State Scholastic Championship tournament. Usually happens in April.
Can be found here: https://www.calendarwiz.com/calendars/calendar.php?crd=nwsrsevents&&jsenabled=1&winh=587&winw=1280&inifr=false
For National Scholastic Tournament, below are the most prestigious ones:
National K-12 Grade Championships. Usually happens in Dec.
National Middle School (K-8) Championship. Usually happens in April.
National Elementary (K-6) Championship. Usually happens in May.
All-Girls National Championship. Usually happens in April.
Details can be found here: https://new.uschess.org/national-events-calendar
Above are the open tournaments, which means anyone who qualifies by the age/grade/gender can attend.
You can start here: http://www.uschess.org/component/option,com_top_players/Itemid,371/
Lots of benefits, including:
- Chess teaches you to get creative
- Chess teaches you to never get too comfortable
- On the chess board for every move you make, the opponent has an answer or counter play. Similarly in life for every action there is a consequence, it could go in your favor or not.
- It prepares you for failures in life. Do not get disappointed if things don’t go well in your favor or per your plan. Make a plan B and try to improve on yourself every step of the way.
For a beginner level player – Don’t focus on openings. Focus on improving your tactical skills. It will take you a long way up until at least 1600 levels.
Don’t give up. You will have lots of losses and tons of bad tournaments. You learn from your losses more than your wins. Focus on the game rather than the outcome.
Don’t be afraid of the opponent’s rating. You might be scared of a higher rated player and try to play solidly, that will only help your opponent beat you, remember that your opponent is also afraid of losing to you so just keep that in mind.
Get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy and good breakfast. Don’t get too excited in between rounds and stay relaxed
Two ways:
- Play in lots of tournaments and analyze your games after and learn from your mistakes
- Practice chess puzzles daily.
School work is always the No1 priority. Finish the homework first before you dive into chess. Try to have an uninterrupted period for chess.
Be there and be supportive, try not be result oriented. If you have time, learn together and play with them. Chess provides a very good bonding opportunity for parent-child relationships.
We highly recommend you read this article: A parents guide to scholastic chess tournaments
National State Invitational
- National State Elementary Championship (Rockefeller)
The John D. Rockefeller III National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Rockefeller National Champion.
US Chess has added the Rockefeller Champion to its list of qualifiers for the World Youth or the World Cadet Championship and the U.S. Cadet Championship.
Austin Tang was Rockefeller Champion of 2021. Hayul Lim was the 2022 Oregon representative (https://new.uschess.org/rockefeller-champions-list).
- National Tournament of Middle School State Champions (Barber)
The Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Barber National Champion.
US Chess has added the Barber Champion to its list of qualifiers for the World Youth or the World Cadet Championship and the US Cadet Championship.
WIM Zoey Tang and Ishaan Kodarapu were the 2021/2022 Oregon representatives.
- National Tournament of High School State Champions (Denker)
The GM Arnold Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Denker National Champion.
US Chess has added the GM Denker Champion to its list of qualifiers for the World Youth Championship and the U.S. Junior Closed Championship.
FM Shunkai Peng won 2nd place in 2021 Denker and Calvin Chang was the 2022 Oregon representative.
- National Tournament of Girls State Champions (Haring)
The WIM Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Haring National Champion.
The winner (or tiebreak winner if co-champions exist) will qualify for the World Youth or World Cadet Championship, if the player is eligible to join the US Chess delegation. She will also be seeded into the U.S. Girls Closed Championship, if she qualifies, and will also receive a scholarship and prizes, to be determined by the US Chess Women’s Committee, commensurate with available resources.
WIM Zoey Tang won 2nd place in 2022 Haring and Neha Narendran was the 2021 Oregon representative.
- National Tournament of Senior State Champions (Irwin)
The John T. Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions is a free event that invites each state affiliate’s nominee to compete for the title of Irwin National Champion.
GM Jim Tarjan tied for 3rd in 2022 Irwin and NM Wilson Gibbins was the 2021 Oregon representative.
International Youth Events
World Cadet Championship (players younger than 12) and World Youth championship (players younger than 18). Players qualified by rating to be qualified to the US Delegation.
WIM Zoey Tang has been Qualifying for the US Delegation of World Cadet Championship and World Youth Championship from 2017 to 2022.
For more information about international youth events, please see below:
https://new.uschess.org/international-youth-events/international-youth-event-faq
U.S. Junior Championship and U.S. Junior Girls Championship
The US Junior/Junior Girls Championship has a maximum of 10 players—the top players Under 20 (as of Jan. 1) in the nation.
WIM Zoey Tang was invited to the 2022 US Junior Girls Championship and placed 7th out of 10 players.
2022-July-06 Oregonian features Zoey
Chess titles are titles awarded to players based on their skill, performance, and rank. A player who has earned a chess title is often referred to as a “titled player” or by their actual title (e.g., grandmaster). Chess titles are awarded by governing chess bodies and federations. The most prestigious titles are conferred by FIDE, while national federations (like US Chess) also have their own titles. If a player has a title, they are extremely strong players and are likely a master.
Fide Requirement for title players:
GM (Grandmaster): Fide rating> 2500 and earn three grandmaster norms in international competition
IM (International Master): Fide rating>2400 and achieve three international master norms in international competition.
WGM(Women Grandmaster): Exclusive to women. FIDE rating>2300 as well as three WGM norms in international competition.
FM(Fide Master): FIDE rating>2300. No norm requirement
WIM(Women International Master): Exclusive to women Fide rating>2200. Three norms are required for the WIM title
CM (Candidate Master): Fide rating>2200. No norm requirement
WFM (Women Fide Master): Fide rating>2100. No norm requirement
WCM (Women Candidate Master): Fide rating>2000. No norm requirement
Details can be found here: https://www.chess.com/terms/chess-titles#differenttitles
US Chess Rating Classes
To get the FIDE rating one has to play the FIDE rated chess tournaments. One has to play against at least five FIDE-rated chess players and score at least half points against them over a period of not more than 26 months. Also, the initial rating is published only if it is 1000 or more.
Yes, of course! Although team tournaments are not as frequently held in Oregon and across the world, they are a lot of fun and enable young players to represent their schools alongside the best of the best from their schools. In these team tournaments, usually 5 players (plus 1 or 2 standby players) represent their schools in teams. CFS allows only one school per team, but OSCF allows as many teams as a school can send to the statement tournament.
Oregon conducts two team championships per year:
- Chess for Success Team Tournament: This is the largest and most elaborate tournament that happens over several months. Schools across the state participate in regional tournaments first at elementary, middle and high school level first. At the regionals, only the top 1 or 2 teams from each region make it to the state finals. Up to 5 players from each school can compete, along with 2 reserve players. During some years there were as many as 1000 players participating! We are hoping that the participation will go back up to that level or beyond again post pandemic. Keep out an eye for announcements from your school chess team or subscribe to updates from Chess for Success at https://www.chessforsuccess.org/
- OSCF Team Tournament: OSCF has been conducting individual state scholastic tournaments for several years and in 2019 they initiated a highly successful team tournament as well. However due the pandemic the OSCF state team tournament was canceled in 2020 and was online only in 2021. In 2022, they resumed over-the-board (in-person) tournaments again. For more details about the 2023 team tournament and other scholar chess news, follow OSCF at www.oscf.org
The Bethany local area (where our founders Zoey, Ishaan, and Austin live & study) elementary and middle schools like Jacob Wismer Elementary, Hope Chinese Charter School, and Stoller Middle School have fantastic records at these team chess tournaments. The three schools combined have 10+ years of near flawless unbeaten record at the state team tournaments.
Ishaan has been a staple member of Jacob Wismer for 5 years and has been doing the same with Stoller. During his 7-year tenure so far at Jacob Wismer + Stoller, every single year (excluding 2020 when everything was canceled), Ishaan led or helped his school teams win champion in any state team tournament they participated in! One exception was 2018, where Jacob Wismer was only second at the state level.
Zoey and Austin have been top players of Hope and Stoller’s chess team. During their stay at Hope and Stoller (2017-2022), their teams have been the champion team of the state multiple times and have the most number of players. Zoey attended Westview high school in 2022 and is eager to help the high school team to win the State Champion where the competition is more furious.
Jacob Wismer: Here is a record and some beautiful memories of all those victories!
| 2022 | 1st Place 2nd Place | OSCFTeam #1: Neev Kodarapu, Eesha Juneja, Pranav Kurpad, Matthew Alappat, Anay Shah Team #2: Sahasra Vinjam, Vivaan Kalra, Krish Telang, Kavish Dhar, Stuthi Mathew |
| 2022 | NA | Chess for Success: Did not participate |
| 2021 | 1st Place K5-R | OSCF Team #1: Avyukth Sunil, Anay Shah, Eesha Juneja, Methmi Goonetilleke, Kavish Dhar Team #2: Jaya Karthikeya Vankayalapati, Pranav Kurpad, Sahasra Vinjam, Eshaan Ramesh Segavalu, Srinidhi Inam |
| 2021 | NA | Chess for Success: Did not participate |
| 2020 | NA | OSCF: Tournament canceled due to COVID |
| 2020 | NA | Chess for Success: Tournament canceled due to COVIDHowever, the school team won 1st place in Regionals right before the shutdown |
| 2019 | 1st place | OSCF: Ameya Shirguppe, Mikhail Arturov, Vimal Adiraju, Ishaan Kodarapu, Nathan Ye |
| 2019 | 1st place | Chess for Success:Ameya Shirguppe, Mikhail Arturov, Tanish Pentakota, Vimal Adiraju, Ishaan Kodarapu, Varyan Jain, Prajna Sripathi Coach: Mike Terrill |
| 2018 | 2nd place | Ameya Shirguppe, Mikhail Arturov, Ishaan Kodarapu, Vimal Adiraju, Nathan Ye, Eleanor Song and Jeeva MoorthyCoach: Mike Terrill |
| 2017 | 1st place | Leonard Yan, Vimal Adiraju, Ishaan Kodarapu, Nathan Ye, Egan Wong, Coach Mike Terrill, Eleanor Song, Srikruthi NerallaCoach: Mike Terrill |
| 2016 | 1st place | Sudarshan Gokul, Ishaan Kodarapu, Vimal Adiraju, Kyle Liu, Egan Wong, Eleanor SongCoach: Mike Terrill |
| 2015 | 2nd place | Clarence Guo, Egan Wong, Kyle Liu, Sudarshan Gokul, Eleanor Song, Coach Mike (Deetya Brahmarouthu absent)Coach: Mike Terrill |
| 2014 | 2nd place | Deetya Brahmarouthu, Peter Ye, Colin Liu, Greg Ji-Hoon, Jang Kyle Liu, Egan WongCoach: Mike Terrill |
| 2013 | 1st place | Jonathan Guo, Ethan Wu, Kyle Liu, Colin Liu, Maria KlimkinaCoach: Mike Terrill |
| 2012 | 3rd place | Ethan Wu, Colin Liu, , Keshav Siddhartha , Joel Abitzen, Maria Klimkina, Kyle LiuCoach: Mike Terrill |
| 2011 | 2nd place | Colin Liu, Joel Abitzen, Keshav Siddhartha, Nicholai Dimov, Noel Abitzen and Bradley WangCoach: Mike Terrill |
Chess King, Ravi Adiraju, and Coach Mike (missing, to be superimposed later) standing behind.
2017 (Clear 1st place): (left to right) Leonard Yan, Vimal Adiraju, Ishaan Kodarapu, Nathan Ye, Egan Wong, Coach Mike Terrill, Eleanor Song, Srikruthi Neralla
Hope Chinese Charter School: Team memories of all precious moments. Special thanks to Hope Chinese Charter School’s parent volunteer coaches: Dwayne Boyce, Micah Wilson, Nico Chondro, Lilly Zhang, Kevin Wang, Shannon Watkins, James van der Lee, Tinudade Adebolu, Bernadette Le, Nate Look, Cynthia Teoh.
2017 Chess for Success State Champion 1st place, from left to right: Austin Tang, Zoey Tang, Ethan Truong, Emma Wilson, Alexandre Boyce, Trystan Van Der Lee, Robert Chondro. Coach: Nico Chondro, Dwayne Boyce
2018 Chess for Success State Champion 1st place, from left to right: Ademidun Adebolu, Austin Tang, Zoey Tang, Trystan Van Der Lee, Jamie Tan. Coach: Lilly Zhang, Dwayne Boyce
In a small charter school, we have a 30 players chess team, hooray to our parent volunteer coaches and enthusiastic chess kids!
Stoller Middle: Coming soon!