🍎 State Scholastic Champs: Fighting Chess and Leader Logjams 🪵
- Mike B, Sandeep J
- Mar 14
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 10
The 60th annual Minnesota State Scholastic Chess Championships were held over the weekend of March 8-9 at the University of St. Thomas’s Anderson Student Center. As the outside temperatures rose over the weekend, the heat transferred indoors as 324 students and 52 scholastic teams battled over the board for bragging rights. Fighting chess was found in all four sections, but the individual and team competitions in the K-12, K-8, and K-5 sections were especially fierce. Sunday’s final round once again provided the excitement for the kids, parents, and coaches that we all hope for in a successful tournament!
K-12 🔵
The High School section had three co-champions tying for first place with 6/7: Troy Cavanah, Owen Pelletier, and Joshua Rajadurai, with Troy having the best tiebreakers.
There were also three schools tying for first place with 19.5 points: Eden Prairie, Century, and Eastview. Minnetonka (19) and Wayzata (17.5) rounded out the top five. Special shout-out to Rochester who brought six high school teams (9 overall!) to St. Paul!
K-8 🟠
The K to 8 section also saw fierce competition. 94 scholastic players from K-8 competed for Minnesota scholastic K-8 grade championship as well as 6 spots for the Barber scholastic playoffs. Here we had a 6 way tie between Vivian Yang, Rishab Jain, Varin Singhal, Sourish Majumder, Ilya Chuhunou, and Ahmed Ilyasov. Vivian had the best tiebreaks among the 6 co-champions.
Minnetonka Middle school West was the best performing team with a score of 19.5 points. Nicholet middle school team was close second with 18.5 points. The Nova classical Academy team came in third place with 14.5 points.
K-5 🟣
Competition was equally tough in the K-5 section with 6 scholastic players tying for first place. Defending champion Ryan Zhou will share the title this year with five others: Kai Shamesh, Krish Mahajan, Matthew MingMing Liu, Albert Yang, and Darsh Kashiwar. Ryan won the tiebreaker accounting on the 4th tiebreak category.
Scenic Heights elementary school team was the top score with a score of 16.5, They were followed by Eagle Ridge Elementary charter school in second place with a score of 14.5. Highland elementary school goal team claimed the third spot with a score of 13.5.
K-3 🟢
The K-3 section also saw a very healthy competition with 43 students competing for the top spot. Prithvi Arun claimed the K-3 trophy with an unbeaten score of 5/5. The second place was a six way tie between Samuel Pederson, Ethan Yencho, Victor Nyeggen, Arthit Dasgupta, Hayden Juszczyk and Warren Hurewitz. Lots of good chess to be expected from all of them.
Congratulations to all the winners! 👏
Denker/Barber/Rockefeller ⚔️
As has been the tradition in the past, the top six players from K-12 and K-8 will be invited to compete in playoffs, joined this year by K-5. The State Scholastic Playoffs are scheduled for April 12-13 at Bethel University.
Winners from the K-12, K-8 section and K-5 section earn the right to represent Minnesota at the National Denker Tournament of K-12 Champions, the National Barber Tournament of grade K-8 Champions, and the National Rockefeller Tournament of K-5 Champions July 28-31, 2025 in Middleton, Wisconsin. The winners of each of the playoff sections also receive a $400 stipend to help offset the cost of attending the national chess events in Wisconsin.
Many of us remember the days of this tournament being played in a school gymnasium or cafeteria. With 324 students participating in the scholastic championship, a 10% increase over 2024, the Anderson Student Center at the University of St. Thomas is a wonderful and spacious venue to host this growth.
The MSCA expresses our gratitude to UST, and the great work of Tournament Directors Sarah Wahl, Jackson Wahl, and Jenny Bourne. We also applaud the self-less tournament organizing efforts of Tim Radermacher and Scott Carpenter. Lastly, a special recognition to the school coaches and supporting parents. Championship scholastic tournaments are not successful without you. 🙏