2027
78th Nevada State Scholastic Individual and Team Chess Championship Chess Tournament
World Chess Federation, Inc. is a charitable 501(c)(3) organization devoted exclusively to supporting the educational, cultural, and recreational value of the game of chess. Contributions are tax deductible. To these ends, the organization will conduct various programs to educate the public on the history of the game and encourage students to study and play the game of chess as a means of intellectual developments.
World Chess Federation, Inc. and its national affiliate, American Chess Association (founded 1857), and state affiliate, Nevada State Chess Association (founded 1950), are proud to announce the date and location for our 78th annual Nevada State Chess Association State Scholastic Individual and Team Chess Championship. It is going to be held on Sunday April 11, 2027 at New East West Academy, 6438 South Tenaya Way, Suite 100, Las Vegas, Nevada 89113, who is sponsoring this year’s event.
The tournament is an American Chess Association rated tournament open to Nevada students in grades K-12. ACA membership is only one dollar for life membership.
- Individual Trophies: Awarded to the top scorer in each K-12 category.
- Team Trophies: Awarded based on the top four scores from each school in the following divisions:
- Best High School Team: Grades 12 & below
- Best Middle School Team: Grades 8 & below
- Best Elementary School Team: Grades 5 & below
The entry fee is $35 if paid before April 15, 2026, and $45 thereafter. Late registration will be open from 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM on the day of the event.
- Welcome and announcements will begin at 8:30 AM
- Round 1 at 9:00 AM.
- Round 2 at 11:00 AM.
- Lunch Break from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
- Round 3 at 12:30 PM.
- Round 4 at 2:30 PM.
- Round 5 at 4:30 PM.
- Awards ceremony will take place from 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM.
Register Here
Tournament Registration
History
2026
The 77th Nevada State Individual and Team Chess Championship drew to a triumphant close on May 17. Hosted by the Nevada State Chess Association (NSCA) and sponsored by New East West Academy, this year’s tournament attracted a record-breaking turnout. Chess players from 22 different public and private schools, alongside enthusiasts from across the state, gathered to engage in thrilling battles over the 64 squares.
The atmosphere at the venue was both tense and exhilarating, filled with moments of deep, contemplative silence punctuated by gasps of dramatic comebacks. Competitors held their breath as they deployed strategies and outwitted opponents on the board. Every move demanded intense concentration and strategic vision, fully showcasing the exceptional logical thinking and psychological resilience of Nevada’s young chess talents.
Following five intense rounds of competition throughout the day, the 2026 Nevada K-12 Individual Co-Champions title was claimed by four outstanding players from New East West Academy: Leo Yi, Abigail Ferris, Michael Baoyinto, and Harlem Correa, all of whom achieved a perfect score of 5/5.
Individual Tournament Highlights
Other notable trophy winners include:
• 8th Grade and Under: Dylan Huang (New East West Academy) – 4/5 points
• 7th Grade and Under (Tie): Siyi Chen & Jack Chen (New East West Academy) – 4 points
• 5th Grade and Under: Edward Teems (New East West Academy) – 4 points
• 4th Grade and Under: Lucas Wang (New East West Academy) – 4 points
• 3rd Grade and Under: Eric Wang (New East West Academy) – 4 points
• 2nd Grade and Under: Jasper Xie (Gehrig Academy) – 4 points
• 1st Grade and Under: Jasper Wong (New East West Academy) – 4 points
• Kindergarten: Melody Zhang Yang (New East West Academy) – 1 point
In the 77-year history of the NSCA State Scholastic Individual Championship, several historic milestones were shattered this year:
• Abigail Ferris became the first female player in history to win (or co-win) the K-12 Championship section.
• Second-grader Harlem Correa became the youngest K-12 Champion (or co-champion) in history, breaking a 29-year-old record set in 1997 by George Vaughan, who won as a fifth-grader.
• New East West Academy set a historic milestone by sweeping 12 out of 13 individual trophies awarded at the event.
Team Championship Results
New East West Academy dominated the team standings across all divisions:
• High School Team Champion: New East West Academy secured a perfect team score of 20/20 points (calculated by combining the top 4 individual scores).
• Middle School Team Champion: New East West Academy also achieved a perfect team score of 20/20 points.
• Elementary School Team Champion: New East West Academy captured the title with an outstanding 19/20 points.
All three team performances set brand-new benchmarks in the 77-year history of the NSCA State Individual and Team Chess Championships.
2025
76th Annual Nevada State Chess Association Scholastic Chess Individual and Team Championship was held April 27, 2025 on Las Vegas at the host sitre New East West Academy.
The 2025 Nevada State Scholastic 12th grade and under individual champion is Alexander Skoczylas of Hyde Park who scored 5 points out of 5.
There were 51 individuals who participated Other trophy winners included:
- 11th grade/under Josiah Chong New East West Academy 4.5 points
- 10th grade/under Michael Xie New East West Academy 4 points
- 9th grade/under Wesley Zhang Hyde Park Middle School 4 points
- 8th grade/under Aryan Kamalanthan McCaw Elementary 4 points
- 7th grade/under Jason Xie New East West Academy 4 points
- 6th grade/under Timi Guo Coral Academy 4 points
- 5th grade/under Kaitlyn Huang 3.5 points
- 4th grade/under Franco Love New East West Academy 3.5 points
- 3rd grade/under Austin Zhou McCaw Elementary 3.5 points
- 2nd grade/under Eric Wang New East West Academy/McCaw Elementary 2.5 poimts
- 1st grade/under Jasper Xie 2 points
The High School Team Champion is New East West Academy with 16 team points with Hyde Park Middle School taking 2nd place with 15 team points.
The Middle School Team Champion is New East West Academy with 14.5 team points.
The Elementary Team Champion is McCaw Elementary which had 13 team points while New East West Academy finished 2nd with 12 points.
View the updated annual rankings here.
View the updated top 25 scholastic chess players here.
2024
75th annual Nevada State Chess Association State Scholastic Individual and Team Chess Tournament
May 5, 2024
Stan Vaughan (792) 890-2322 stanvaughan@live.com
The 75th anniversary of the Nevada State Chess Association at their State Scholastic Team and Individual Championships today was held in Las Vegas, hosted and sponsored by the New East West Academy.
The event saw a record number of schools competing in all 3 divisions as 38 schools competed in the High School , 36 teams competed in the Middle School and 23 teams in the Elementary Divisions.
Team awards were won by New East West Academy winning the High School Team title by 8 points over nearest rival in the High School Division, by 8 points over nearest rival in the Middle School Division and by 4 points over nearest rival in the Elementary Division.
Individual awards were won by the following:
Isaac Wang of Hyde Park Middle School won the NSCA State 12th grade under title turning in a 6-0 result.
Jason Xie of New East West Academy won best 11th grade under with 5.5/6.
Gabriel Encabo of Odyssey went 5/6 to win top 10 grade under . Jarl Bitcoon of Wallin Elementary went 5/6 to take top 9th grade under.
Middle School individual awards were won by Alan Griffin of St. Viator 5/6 for top 8th grade below.
Christina Bommarito of New East West Academy 5/6 for top 7th grade in tiebreaks over her sister Elizabeth Bommarito also of New East West Academy who also turned in 5/6 performance.
Michael Xie of New East West Academy scored 5/6 to take 1st 6th grade under.
Elementary School individual winners were Justin Zhou of McCaw Elementary 4.5/6 for top 5th grade/below.
Timi Guo of Star Chess Castle Academy 4/6 for top 4th grade/below.
Edward Teems of New East West Academy 4/6 for top 3rd grade below.
Leo Zhao of Coral Cadence 4/6 for top 2nd grade/below.
Eric Wang of New East West Academy 3/6 for top 1st grade below and Hugo Liu of Challenger School for top kindergarten.
You can view the full standings below:
Nevada State Chess Association 2024 Individual Final Standings State Scholastic Chess Championships 05
New East West Academy saw these record breaking performances in only the first year of the program under Coach Stan Vaughan, a legendary coach noted for his ‘Russian System’ as he was coaxed out of retirement after previous success back in the 1990s when he coached numerous national and state team and individual champions which had been honored by then Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones with a ‘Stan Vaughan Day’. Vaughan, who has been featured on a stamp in Burundi for his chess exploits, was also previously twice honored by then Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman as well with ‘Stan Vaughan Days.
World Chess Federation, inc. and its national affiliate American Chess Association, and state affiliate Nevada State Chess Association are proud to announce the 75th Annual Nevada State Chess Association State Scholastic Individual and Team Chess Championship, proudly sponsored by New East West Academy at 6438 South Tenaya Way, Suite 100, Las Vegas, Nevada 89113.
Here are the result from May 5, 2024!
An American Chess Association Life Membership is included in the price of entry!
New East West Academy, committed to education and growth, provides the perfect backdrop for this prestigious event. Let the games begin, and may the best minds emerge victorious in this thrilling display of chess mastery!
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