Hawaii Chess Federation

February 2025 Scholastic Open Tournament Report

Posted by:

Scott Middleman

On:

February 19, 2025

The Hawaii Chess Federation hosted its February 2025 Scholastic Open tournament on Saturday, February 1st, at Washington Middle School. The tournament, which consisted of six rounds of chess played at a time control of G30 (30 minutes per player) with a 5-second increment, boasted over 90 student participants and a handful of adult players as well. The “open” tournament format included two scholastic sections – K-8 Novice and K-12 Open. The Novice section is meant for newer players (rated below 800 USCF) to hone their skills against other less experienced players, while the Open section is for players of all ages who are looking to test their strength against more experienced competition. One rule unique to this format is that the player who wins the Novice section is automatically “graduated” to the Open section for future events!

After a long and exciting day of chess, the stand-out performance was delivered by Eamon Jordan from Punahou School, who won the Novice (K-8) section with a score of 5.5 and a clear first-place result. The Open (K-12) section saw a 3-way tie for first place, where Luke Jones from Moanalua High School won on tie breaks with a score of 5.0. In the team competition, Punahou School claimed first place in the K-8 Novice section while ‘Iolani School won the K-12 Open section.

Congratulations to our winners and to all participants for their hard work and dedication to chess!

USCF Tournament Results

K-8 Novice Section – Prize Winners

Individual Awards:

Overall Winners:
1. Eamon Jordan (5.5)
2. Wenxuan Zhu (5.0)
3. Lucas Zhu (5.0)
Middle School (grades 6-8):
1. John Bell (5.0)
2. Bangyi Pan (5.0)
3. Yoshiki Choh (4.0)
Elementary School (grades 3-5):
1. Jason Jiang (4.5)
2. Alexander Alejo (4.0)
3. Violet White (4.0)
Primary School (grades K-2):
1. Alexander Hsia (4.0)
2. Henry Middleman (3.0)
3. Sang Nguyen (3.0)

Team Awards:

Punahou School (14.5)
Kaimuki Christian School (11.0)
Homeschool (10.5)

K-12 Open Section – Prize Winners

Individual Awards:

Overall Winners:
1. Luke Jones (5.0)
2. Jordan Nishimoto (5.0)
3. Aurelia White (5.0)
High School (grades 9-12):
1. Tyler Hijirida (4.5)
2. Ty Dutoit (4.5)
3. Kevin Ji (4.5)
Middle School (grades 6-8):
1. Thomas Williams (4.5)
2. Olivia Wang (4.5)
3. Connor Lopez (4.0)
Elementary School (grades 3-5):
1. Alphaeus Tse (4.0)
2. Garen Zhang (4.0)
3. Max Narimasu (4.0)
Primary School (grades K-2):
1. Apollo Van Brunt (3.5)
2. Lucas Jansson (3.0)
3. Anson Li (2.0)