Over 300 kids gathered in Denver for the Colorado State Chess Championship last weekend. This collection of young minds competed individually and also for over 100 different schools across the Centennial State. The competition was spread out among the rooms of the TivoliCenter at the Auraria Campus in Denver. Colorado Springs should be proud of how well their kids performed at this statewide competition.

Bryant So is co-champion for the K-3 division with 2 other players, all scoring 5.5 out of 6 games. That's 5 wins and a draw for an undefeated performance. Bryant represented Academy International.

Skyview Middle School tied for 3rd place in the 4-6 grade division, taking 12 of a possible 18 points. Alex Li and Jasmin Aprile were two Colorado Springs kids who joined the 6-way tie for 4th place with 5/6 points.

This section generated the most excitement in the commentary room when co-champions Jackson Chen and Anatoly Makarevich faced off in the final game. National Master Todd Bardwick was commentating for the audience, and was working through the difficult details of a complicated position when Anatoly made a move that had been judged as defensible rather than crushing. Groans and cheers combined, and then escalated as Jackson responded rapidly with the wrong defense! Confusion then reigned as the pieces were jumbled on the computer feed, and a runner eventually returned with the news that Jackson had offered, and Anatoly accepted a draw! Quite a rollercoaster ride for the spectators at the conclusion which put these two into the championship tie with Webb Harrington all at 5.5/6.

Kaylor and Phillip Scudder and Jacob Mueller did a fantastic job for The Classical Academy, tying for 2nd place in the 10-12 grade section by scoring 10.5 of a possible 18, but doing so with only half of the players fielded by the other top 3 teams in the High School section.

Phillip Scudder and Josh Divine were both amongstthe 6 players tied for 6th place in the 10-12 divisionwith 4/6.
Tyler Hughes finished off his last year of scholastic chess with his 3rd win of the 10-12 division with a perfect 6/6 score, and qualifies again for the Denker High School Championship tournament, from which he already has a 4-year Scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas. This weekend's performance also earned the young Master a scholarship to Westwood College in Denver.

Alexa Lasley earned the Colorado nomination to the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls where she will be competing for several scholarships with the other champions from the various states in the US. She is a 7th grader who played up with the 10-12 gradersand scored 3.5/6 for the best female performance in that division to earn the nomination.

Both Tyler and Alexa are educated at home.

Big thanks to Tom Nelson and his staff of volunteers that made such a wonderful State Scholastic Championship possible. Check Colorado-Chess.com for full results and other information on Colorado's thriving chess scene.