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Chess Center Students Shine at Virginia Scholastic Championships

More than 600 players participated in the 2026 Virginia Scholastic and College Championships March 7-8 at Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria. The Center was well represented at the event, and we are very proud of all of the kids who came to play.

K-8 Champion Pinhang Gao (L) with Cooper MS student Leo Wang (R), his friend from the K-8 Section

The kids who brought back trophies are justifiably proud of themselves. Colvin Run fifth grader Pinhang Gao won the overall K-8 championship, the youngest student in memory to win that honor. Churchill Road won the K-3 team championship, with Vlad Inchin and Sieon Jeon both bringing home individual trophies that are close to their height (4th and 10th places), Spring Hill Elementary tied for first place in the K-5 Championship.

Kent Gardens brought back the K-5 Under 1000 first place trophy and Mr. Anderson won Coach of the Year

An impressive 10 members of the Kent Gardens club, plus others who are not in the club this semester, had a great time at the tournament, and brought back the K-5 Under 1000 first place trophy. The White Oaks team of five students brought back the second place trophy in the K-8 Under 1200 section.

White Oaks students Ziggy Asefi (L) and Gustavo Calero (R)
Churchill Road students Sieon Jeon (L) and Vlad Inchin (C), the K-3 Championship team, holding their trophies with Coach Albert Anderson (R)

Kyle Huang, who attended our camps as a small child and more recently volunteered as an assistant during the summer, is the K-12 co-champion. Too many of our students and former students won trophies and medals to list them all, but none of the prize-winning is as important as how many students showed up to play.

Participation in events is too often denigrated as less important than winning, but we disagree. By playing, students improve, and that improvement sometimes manifests by winning awards. Those who came to help their teams are just as important as those who scored a lot of points. About 70 players with strong connections to the Center played in the tournament, and we are pleased both with them and with our efforts to convey our enthusiasm for chess to the next generation.

We measure our students’ success in a variety of ways. The number of friends they make at competitions is our favorite way. Competing in formal competitions is the best way for kids to get better at chess. Towards that end, the Center is sponsoring a large, inexpensive event April 25 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Students from kindergarten through 12th grade may register at this page.