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What you need to know about the IHSA chess state finals in Peoria: Top teams, local teams

wes huett, peoria journal star
·3 min read

The 2024 Illinois High School Association chess state finals are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria.

More than 1,500 players and coaches from 128 schools are scheduled to attend the two-day event, which the IHSA believes is the largest team chess competition in the United States. This is the 50th year of the annual event.

Where are the IHSA state chess finals?

The event is free and open to the public. The games are to be played inside the Peoria Civic Center ballroom, located at the top of the escalators near the marquee entrance of the PCC — located at 201 SW Jefferson St. The competition room is an electronic device-free zone for all spectators. Phones must be kept on silent, and if phones must be used for any reason, spectators should exit the ballroom, according to the IHSA.

When are the IHSA state chess finals?

The first of seven rounds starts at 10 a.m. Friday and continues until about 8 p.m. The final day of play begins at 9 a.m. with the awards ceremony scheduled for about 5 p.m. In each round, the teams are paired off and 512 games of chess are played simultaneously, according to the IHSA.

What are the top teams in the IHSA chess state finals?

Defending champion Lincolnshire Stevenson earned the top seed in the event. The rest of the top 10: Chicago Payton, Palatine Fremd, Naperville Neuqua Valley, Chicago Whitey Young, Evanston, Naperville Central, Aurora Illinois Math and Science Academy, Hinsdale Central and Chicago Lane.

What teams from around Peoria are in the IHSA chess state finals?

Eight teams from around Peoria qualified for the IHSA state chess finals. Here they are, listed with seed: 11. Dunlap, 37. Washington, 61. Richwoods, 71. Brimfield, 94. Limestone, 112. East Peoria, 113. Morton and 118. Notre Dame.

Below are the full rosters for the eight Peoria-area teams, led by the coach.

  • Limestone — Coach: Connie Stromberger; Players: Brandon Lewis (Sr.); Andrew Riggs (Sr.); Ashton Ayler (So.); James Dawson (So.); Thomas Barratt (Sr.); William Hurst (So.); William Manley (Jr.); Nathan Cox (Fr.); Tyler Suits (So.); Cole Bart (So.); Camila Jackson (Sr.); Beau Breedlove (So.).

  • Brimfield — Coach: Robert Bernales; Players: Mason Siegel (Sr.); Isaiah Hill (Sr.); Logan Siegel (Fr.); Reed Florey (Jr.); Conner Moody (Jr.); LJ Higgs (Sr.); Nolan Collins (Jr.); Joey Burkitt (Jr.); Reede Fabry (Fr.); Carson Moody (Jr.); Ian Asbell (Fr.); Isaac Burwell (So.)

  • Dunlap — Coach: Jason Shea; Assistant: Randy Black; Players: Owen Zhang (So.); Michael Li (Fr.); Joshua Wang (Jr.); Alex Fei (Jr.); Praneet Korrapati (Sr.); Kevin Yang (Sr.); Noah Li (Sr.); Harris Khoo (Sr.); Roy Wei (Fr.); Tyler Sass (Sr.); Nikhil Padarthy (Jr.); Savan Giri (Fr.).

  • East Peoria — Coach: Tamme Laughlin-Dimitroff; Assistants: Tia Howell; Brysen Lovell; Orion Ringle. Players: Mason Brown (Sr.); Nathan Teaney (Sr.); Milo Sergison (Sr.); Skylor Berkley (So.); Meadow Terry (Sr.); Vincent Ray (So.); Robert Riley (So.); Asher Bailey (So.); Jaden Schiele (Jr.); Andrew Kinser (Sr.); Anthony Romero (Fr.); Briana Benedict (So.).

  • Morton — Coach: Kimberly Serrurier. Players: Nicholas Delgado (Sr.); Nathan Manthey (Sr.); Gabe Paulson (Sr.); Isaac Ober (Sr.); Bryce McMillan (Fr.); Dennis Farney (Fr.); Soren Fifer (Fr.); Kevin Vo (Jr.); Abram Sauder (Fr.); Brett Congrove (Jr.); Jameson Woods (Jr.); Tyler Duewel (Jr.); Caleb Song (So.)

  • Peoria Notre Dame — Coach: Chase Klaus. Players: Brady Peterson (Sr.); James Beyer (So.); Jacob Labarre (So.); Dillon Vu (Sr.); Khoi Dinh (So.); William Long (So.); Alexander Evans (So.); Sam Bishop (Fr.)

  • Peoria Richwoods — Coach: Michael Smith. Players: Kamran Jaffer (So.); Brady Reneau (Jr.); David Han (So.); Aaron Van Kuren (Jr.); Mitchell Wenger (Fr.); Kevin Liao (So.); William Henley (Jr.); Adler Reneau (Jr.); Yash Mittal (Fr.); AJ Isada (So.); Ben Melendy (So.); Zar Malalay (So.).

  • Washington — Coach: Laura McCue-Newport. Assistant: Dave Madsen. Players: Trevor Pak (Sr.); Matt Savage (Sr.); Robert Martin (Sr.); Chris Savage (Jr.); Zach Irish (Jr.); Matthew Stevens (Sr.); Gabe Dumitru (So.); Gavin Snopko (Jr.); Nathan Pak (So.); Sam Zekany (So.); Brandon Adams (So.); Max Armstrong (Fr.).

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA chess state finals Peoria, Illinois schedule, location, top teams