The Colorado State Scholastic Chess Championships and new Rising Talent Unrated Championship
The 2026 Colorado State Scholastic Chess Championships were held over the President’s Day weekend at a new location, STEM School of Highlands Ranch. The event was a resounding success in its new location with over 270 participants in the three scholastic tournaments. The State Scholastic Blitz championship was held on Friday the 13th, and the Colorado State Scholastic Chess Championship and Rising Talent Unrated Championships were held on February 14th and 15th.
Congratulations to this year’s state champions
Colorado State Scholastic Blitz Champions:
K-5 – Ella Zhang
K-12 – Vedant Margale
Rising Talent Unrated Champions:
K-5 – Grayson Evans
K-12 – Caleb Welch
Colorado State Scholastic Chess Champions:
K-1- Connor Wolf Garby
K-3 – Christian Hardy
K-5 – Dylan Kovacs
K-8 – Ashwin Mathimaran
K-12 – Grayson Manuel
Top Colorado female player – Tanya Prabhu
Christian will be our Colorado Representative for the Ashley K-3 Tournament of Champions.
Dylan will be our Colorado Representative for the Rockefeller K-5 Tournament of Champions.
Ashwin will be our Colorado Representative for the Barber K-8 Tournament of Champions.
Tanya will be our Colorado Representative for the Ruth Haring Tournament of Champions.
Grayson will be our Colorado Representative for the Denker K-12 Tournament of Champions.
The Colorado State Chess Association will offer a travel stipend of $800 to each of these state champions as well as whoever wins our Colorado State Senior Chess Championship!
Next up, the Colorado Closed Championships are only 2 weeks away on March 6th, 7th and 8th. If you think your rating qualifies you for one of the sections, you should register! Lastly, please join us for the Colorado State Quick Chess Championship on March 20th at the Hilton Garden Inn Denver Tech Center. We are hosting this championship in Denver in the hopes that we will see a record turnout!
Until next time,
Kevin McConnell
President
Colorado State Chess Association
New Front Range Freestyle Chess tournament and early registration for Colorado State Scholastic Chess Championship!
Hello chess enthusiasts,
The very first Front Range Freestyle chess tournament was held two weeks ago and was a huge success! We had a total of 31 players, and everyone had a good time. The randomized back row positions were chosen ahead of the tournament and revealed 5 minutes prior to the start of each round. We paid out more than $630 in prize money!
Secondly, registration is now open for the Colorado State Scholastic Chess Championship. We have relocated the tournament from the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds to STEM School Highlands Ranch. On the scholastic tournament page, you will find 4 different tournament registrations. We have two new tournaments we are adding to the championship weekend. We will start off with the Colorado State Scholastic Blitz Chess Championship on Friday, February 13th starting at 6:30 pm. Then on Saturday, February 14th we are launching the new “Rising Talent” championship. This brand-new tournament will be a 1-day, unrated chess championship for newer players and any players who want to dip their toes in the water of a state championship to see what it is like! We are planning on a K-5 section and a K-12 section. We will also be holding the K-1 State Scholastic Chess Championship at the same time as the “Rising Talent” championship. You can register for any of these three tournaments on the scholastic tournament page. Registering early for any of these events will save you money!
Finally, we will have the Colorado State Scholastic Chess Championship K-3, K-5, K-8 and K-12 2-day USCF rated chess tournament beginning on Saturday, February 14th and concluding on Sunday, February 15th. We are currently looking for volunteers that would be willing to assist at our information table and help guide new parents and children to where each tournament is being held. These volunteer shifts are 3 hours long and your help would be much appreciated! Registration for this event can also be found on the scholastic tournament page and registering early will save you money! We are hoping for the biggest student participation EVER. We will have a giant chess board on hand for kiddos to play with in between rounds and there will be booths where they can get their games analyzed by masters as well as the opportunity to play blitz chess with various coaches and lots, lots more! Please spread the word and join us for the 2026 Colorado State Scholastic Chess Championship!
Thanks in advance and I will look forward to seeing you there!
Kevin McConnell
President
Colorado State Chess Association
Bylaws Amendment
Dear CSCA Member, A Special Meeting of the Membership will be held on Monday, December 8, 2025, at 7:30 P.M., for the purpose of discussing and voting on the adoption of Amended Bylaws for the Colorado State Chess Association. A copy of the proposed amended bylaws is attached and available on the CSCA website. The purpose of the Amendment is to add optional additional seats on the Board of Directors for at large and junior members, to allow voting by the membership electronically, and clarification of ambiguities in the current bylaws. All current members of the Association are eligible to vote. The meeting will be held at the following location: Central Christian Church of Denver3690 Cherry Creek S. DriveDenver, CO. CSCA AMENDED BYLAWS
Colorado Informant – July
The July edition of the Colorado Informant is now available!
In This Issue:
and more! |
|
CSCA Board Meeting Thursday July 10, 7:30 – 9:00 PM
| Earle Wikle is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/ Meeting ID: 898 2391 2647 One tap mobile — Dial by your location Meeting ID: 898 2391 2647 When |
| Thursday Jul 10, 2025 ⋅ 7:30pm – 9pm (Mountain Time – Denver) |
Colorado Informant – April
The April edition of the Colorado Informant is now available!
In This Issue:
|
and more! |
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DTG BOARDS for COLORADO CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIP 2025
DGT Boards All Sections: DGT BOARD LINK
COLORADO CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIPS
| 2025 Colorado Closed Championship | ||
|
# |
Name | Rating |
| 4 | LM SULLIVA MCCONNELL | 2302 |
| 3 | NM EAMON MONTGOMERY | 2246 |
| 5 | NM GRIFFIN MCCONNELL | 2202 |
| 1 | LM BRIAN D WALL | 2200 |
| 6 | NM MATTHEW WOFFORD | 2185 |
| 2 | CM RHETT LANGSETH | 2165 |
|
2025 Colorado Closed Challenger |
||
|
# |
Name | Rating |
| 2 | ALEXANDER STEGER | 2117 |
| 1 | NM DANIEL HERMAN | 2114 |
| 4 | ROBERT BUCHOLTZ | 2050 |
| 3 | PATRICK ZIJLSTRA | 2046 |
| 5 | LUIS ALB DE AVILA | 2021 |
| 6 | CHRIS MOTLEY | 1961 |
|
2025 Colorado Closed Scholastic Championship |
||
|
# |
Name | Rating |
| 2 | GRAYSON MANUEL | 1906 |
| 4 | SHUBH MISRA | 1889 |
| 6 | AMITAI SEBBA | 1865 |
| 3 | VEDANT MARGALE | 1863 |
| 1 | REYANSH AGARWAL | 1832 |
| 5 | TANYA GURPUR MADKE PRABHU | 1794 |
|
2025 Colorado Closed Scholastic Challenger |
||
| # | Name | Rating |
| 5 | HENRY KOVACS | 1779 |
| 1 | KAAVYA SAKTHISARAVANAN | 1768 |
| 6 | KRISH MATHIMARAN | 1675 |
| 3 | JOHN SCHOENKE | 1675 |
| 2 | FELIX MCMILLAN | 1670 |
| 4 | ASHWIN MATHIMARAN | 1587 |
Colorado Informent – History of Denver Chess
The July edition of the Colorado Informant is now available!
In This Issue:
and more! |
 |
CSCA Board Meeting online on Sunday, September 18, at 7:00 pm.
There will be a CSCA online board meeting on Sunday, September 18, at 7:00 pm.
Agenda:
Old business; Making transition to new positions
New business;
Planning tournament dates for:
Scholastics tournament in Feb
Closed championships
Scholastic closed tournaments
Senior Championship and under 50 tournament
Quick Championship
Blitz Championship
Class Championship
Colorado Open
Maybe add a team championship.
Tie-breakers for Colorado Open
Standards for tournaments: time controls, round times, payments, prizes, and locations.
| Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/ Meeting ID: 841 3058 6043
|
When
Colorado Informant – January
The January 2023 edition of the Colorado Informant is now available!
In This Issue:
and more! |
 |
CSCA Board Meeting online on Sunday, October 30, at 4:30 pm.
CSCA Board Meeting
Sunday, October 30, 2022, at 4:30pm
Agenda:
Old business:
Andy has made progress, but is still working to get access to the bank account. Need past officers to help transition.
Tiebreakers
Mass Texting
Planning tournament dates (I plan to have the tournament dates closer to actual dates by meeting time):
State Scholastics Championship: Feb. 10-12, or Feb. 17-19 (Super bowl is Feb. 12)
Closed championships: March 17-19, or March 24-26
Scholastic closed tournaments: March 24-26, March 31-April 2, April 13-16
Senior and under 50 tournament: April 1-2, April 15-16
Quick Championship: April 22, May 6
Class Championship: April 22-23, May 6-7
Blitz Championship: Sept 1
Colorado Open: Sept 2-3
Maybe add a team championship: Sept. 30 – Oct. 1
New business:
Standards for tournaments: time controls, round times, payments, prizes, and locations.
Classical Championship games all round time controls: G/90;+30, or G/120;d10
Quick Chess Championship games: G/12;+3, or G/12;+5, or G/15;d3
Blitz Chess Championship games: G/5;d0, or G/5;d3, or G/3;+2
Round times: 9am-2pm-7pm
Scholastic T-Shirt Sales
Fundraiser
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 858 1786 4007
Passcode: 480955
CSCA Board Meeting: Wednesday, January 11, 2023, at 8:00pm
Agenda:
Old business:
Tiebreakers
Insurance
State Scholastics Championship: Feb. 10-12
Closed championships: March 24-26
Scholastic closed tournaments: March 24-26
Quick Championship: April 21, or June 3
Class Championship: April 21-22, or April 28-29
Blitz Championship: Sept 1
Senior and under 50 tournament: June 3-4
Colorado Open: Sept 2-3
Maybe add a team championship: Sept. 30 – Oct. 1
New business:
Scholastic T-Shirt Sales
Fundraiser
CSCA Board Meeting: Sunday, January 22, 2023, at 7:00pm
Agenda:
Old business:
State Scholastics Championship: Feb. 10-12
Insurance
Tiebreakers
Closed championships: March 24-26
Scholastic closed tournaments: March 17-19
Quick Championship: April 21, or June 3
Class Championship: April 21-22
Senior and under 50 tournament: June 3-4
Blitz Championship: Sept 1
Colorado Open: Sept 2-3
Maybe add a team championship: Sept. 30 – Oct. 1
New business:
Scholastic T-Shirt Sales
Fundraiser
2023 Colorado Scholastic Championships – DGT Live Boards
Here is the link for the live DGT boards at the Scholastic Championships.
https://view.livechesscloud.com/#c2d22646-b45a-4b5a-92aa-ead6c7ad0945
Thank you to everyone for making this event a success.
More Posts
- CSCA Board Meeting Wednesday 3/15 @ 8pm
- Colorado Informant – July
- CSCA Board Meeting May 17th @7:30pm
- Colorado Informant – October
- CSCA Board Meeting 8/9/2023 @7:30pm
- CSCA Zoom Meeting 9/20 @7:30pm
- Colorado Informant – January 2024
- CSCA Board Wed. Dec 6, Zoom Meeting
- 2024 Colorado Scholastic Championship
- CSCA Board Zoom Meeting Jan. 24, 2024 @7:30pm
- Colorado State Chess Association Meeting Wednesday, 01.23.2024
- Colorado Informant Special Issue
- CSCA Board Zoom Meeting Wed. 3/27, @7:30pm
- Colorado Informant – July
- CSCA Board Zoom Meeting July 17, @ 7:30pm
- CSCA Board Meeting Wed. Oct. 2, 2024 @ 7:30pm
- Colorado Informant – October
- Colorado Informant – January
- CSCA Board Zoom Meeting, Dec. 11, 2025 @ 7:30pm
- CSCA Board Zoom Meeting – 1/16 @ 7:30pm
- Colorado wins at the 2022 US Open Chess Journalists Awards
- Colorado Informant – October
- July Edition of Colorado Informant!
- Colorado Round Robin Needs Players
- CSCA Scholastic State Championship Results
- Board Meeting Minutes (Jan 29th, 2018)
- Colorado Closed 2018
- Colorado Round Robin Details Updated
- Colorado Closed Deadline April 1st
- Senior Championship 2018 Results
- Colorado Closed 2018 Updates
- Colorado Scholastic Closed Postponed
- Colorado Closed 2018 Pairings
- Colorado Closed streaming starts tonight @ 7pm!
- Colorado Closed Rounds 2 & 3 Today!
- Colorado Class Championships
- Board Meeting 21st May, 2018
- Colorado Day of Champions this weekend!
- Colorado Closed 2018 Results
- Changes to the CSCA Board
- 2022 Colorado Open – Sheraton discounted room reservations has been extended to August 12th
- Colorado Informant – April
