Kansas Chess Association

US Open Kansas Reps

Kansas Representatives to US Open (senior plus scholastic) - Bruce Law- Irwin (senior), Aayush Wadhwa- Denker (K-12), Ananya Wadhwa- Haring (girls), Samuel Mehlhaff- Barber (K-8), Maria Leboeuf- Rockefeller (K-5)

Kansas Open

The 2025 Kansas Open was help at the Doubletree Hotel in Lawrence, KS July 18 to July 20. The
event was made up of three events- Bughouse, Blitz, and Open.
The Bughouse tourney (two person teams) was held Friday afternoon July 18. There were 4 teams. There were three rounds of two games. The team of Ben Gradsky and Tony Dutiel was undefeated winning six games. The team of Laurence Coker and Drew Schoenberger finished second with four games won out of six games, only losing to Gradsky-Dutiel team.
The Blitz event was held Friday evening July 18. It consisted of 25 players. Each player, unless he had a bye, played two games against each person each round for 5 rounds. It was a swiss system tourney. The max score was 10. Most players were from Kansas with one player each from Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arizona. Finishing first play by himself and becoming the new Kansas Blitz Champion was Aayush Wadhwa with 9 points. His sister, Ananya Wadhwa, finished second place with 8 points. There was a four way tie for third place with four players scoring 7.0 points- Edward Perry, Sophia Sun, Tmothy Loewen, and KCA President Eric Mullins. Sophia was the top scholastic player in the Blitz tourney with her 7.0 points.
The main event (5 rounds at game in 100 with 5 second delay) was on Saturday and Sunday July 19 and 20. There were 93 participating (the first year below 100 participants in several years). The Open section had 30 players, The Reserve section (U1800) had 21 players, and the Amateur section (U1400) had 42 players. Of participants, most were from Kansas. There were also 10 from Missouri, 2 from Nebraska, and 1 each from Iowa, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Arizona.
The Open section was won by John Drippe with a perfect score of 5 wins in 5 games. He is our new 2025 Kansas State Champion. Tied for second place with 4.0 points were Oliver Ohly, Charlie Cronenwett, and Joshua Fernandes. Oliver Ohly was the top scholastic finisher. Jason Wawrzaszek and Parv Ambrish Patel finished next with 3.5 points. The Reserve section (U1800) was won by Chase Eccles with 4.5 points. He is the new 2025 Kansas Reserve section winner. Finishing second was Dylan Welch and Addison Willett with 4.0 points. By himself in 4th place was Laurence Coker with 3.5 points. Five players scored 3.0 points. Yathin Palavalasa was the top scholastic player in this section. The Amateur section (U1400) was won by Christian Roberts with a score of 4.5 ( 4 wins and 1 draw). He is the new 2025 Kansas Amateur section winner. There was a four way tie for second at 4.0 points between Eric Erbe, Shaurya Sagar Desai, Heidi Haegdorens, and Eshaan Ragavendran. Shaurya was the top playing scholastic player and received the Amateur scholastic plaque. There was a two way
tie at 3.5 points between John Gregg and Ratul Rahula Krishnan.more KS Open PicturesHall of Champions

Over The Board

There are a lot of opportunities for you to play chess over the board (in person).If you are interested in casual play, check out local clubs. Several clubs are listed at the bottom of this page.If you want to enter tournaments, you will most likely need a United States Chess Federation membership. Some tournaments will also require a KCA membership. You can view upcoming events on the KC Knights calendar.Also, the Kansas Chess Scholars Association has tournaments for school age youth. These tournaments are usually free and do not require a USCF membership.

If you have a chess club you want added to this list or if you want help creating a website for your club, contact us at [email protected]

Minutes

KCA Member List

Renaissance Festival

Each fall, at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, the KCA has a sponsors a booth to raise funds. The booth, "Knight Moves" is manned by KCA volunteers. If you are interested in helping, click on the "Volunteer" button below. To see the current volunteer schedule and other information, click on the "Information" button. For more information contact Ken Sarner at [email protected]

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Knight Moves Revenue by Year

KCA Ledger

Plains Chess

Kansas Chess Articles

Previous Event Games

TD Corner

All tournament directors for KCA events are required to be certified by the USCF. If you would like to become a Tournament Director, we have created a tutorial. If you are interested in gaining TD experience, contact the KCA about assisting at a local event.
The KCA will reimburse TD's/Organizers who make their events a KCA event. This means you require KCA memberships for Kansas residents. The KCA will reimburse TD's/Organizers $50 per event. You may use this three times during the calendar year. To collect, submit/email a copy of your USCF cross table along with completed membership forms to the KCA President. You must also submit the dues collected to any KSCA Officer. Players can also pay KCA dues online. Non-Kansas residents playing in your event are not required to join the KCA. The KCA Membership list is "live", so use it to determine if KCA memberships are current. You could also make it part of the Kansas Grand Chess Tour.Before announcing a tournament or scheduling a site, check the Tournament Clearing House below to prevent conflicts with other tournaments in the same area.

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