The Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Organization (OSCO) provides chess tournaments for K-12 students throughout Oklahoma. We are a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit with an all-volunteer board. If you would like to volunteer, connect us with a potential tournament venue, or make a donation, contact us at board@oscochess.org.
The April issue of Oklahoma Chess Magazine features several annotated games featuring Oklahoma scholastic players. Read it here.
Two girls represent Oklahoma at championship in Chicago
Two players represented Oklahoma at a prestigious all-girls tournament in Chicago last week.
Kiara Pavithran scored three wins and two draws in the Under 14 section of the Kasparov Chess Foundation's 21st Annual All-Girls National Championship. Her 5.0/6 score landed her in third place in the field of 101 players. In the tournament's Under 8 division, Javiana Hawkins finished with 3.5/6.
Balaji's big win in Texas
After winning clear first place in the Under 1400 section at the Coppell Chess Club's FIDE Spring Classic, OSCO player Jishnu Balaji is our newest Premier section player. The fourth grader from Bixby scored 6.0/7 in tough company, earning an 189-point rating jump to 1317.
The tournament was held April 2–4 in Irving, Texas. View the results here.
The 2026 Oklahoma Scholastic Chess State Championships
Photos by Jake Williams. More photos here.
The Oklahoma Scholastic Chess State Championships were held Saturday, March 14, at Nigh University Center on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. This year marked the 30th edition of the championship, bringing together student players from across Oklahoma to compete and celebrate scholastic chess. The event was made possible by the generosity of Dr. Russell Evans, dean of UCO’s College of Business, and Dr. Saheli Nath, a professor in the College of Business. We are deeply grateful for their support in welcoming the championship back to this beautiful venue.
A new member of the OSCO Hall of Fame was inducted, state champions were named in four categories, new board members were elected to lead next year's volunteer efforts, and players were selected to represent Oklahoma at the national invitationals to be held during the US Open in August.
From left: Aviel Ndengang (Rockefeller), Nithan Vaithlingam (Ashley), Kiara Pavithran (Haring), Lafayette Chen (Denker), Jack Xue (Barber)
Throughout the scholastic chess season, players compete to represent Oklahoma at national invitational events that take place during the US Open, which is held in late summer. Competitors for our upper elementary, middle school, all-girls (girls can choose to compete to represent us in this category or in the category that corresponds to their school grade), and high school representatives accrue points in Premier section throughout the season. Their state championship points are doubled and added to that score.
National invitationals representatives
The winner of the Lower Elementary (K–3) section at the state championship is named our representative in that category.
This year's high school champion, Lafayette Chen, will represent us at the GM Arnold Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions. This will be Lafayette's second trip to the US Open; he was Oklahoma's middle school champion in 2024.
Our all-girls champion for 2026, Kiara Pavithran, will be Oklahoma's representative to the Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions. It should be noted that since girls competing for this honor must play in the state championship section with the oldest girl also in the running, sixth-grader Kiara had to compete in the high school section. She finished in clear second place in that section, just a half-point behind the high school winner.
Oklahoma's 2026 middle school champion is Jack Xue. Jack will be our representative to the Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions.
Our upper elementary champion is Aviel Ndengang. Aviel will represent Oklahoma at the John D. Rockefeller III National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions.
The champion for our lower elementary division this year is Nithan Vaithlingam. Nithan will represent us at the first annual GM Maurice Ashley National Tournament of K–3 Champions.
Roy Choudhury honored as newest Hall of Famer
Photo by Jake Williams
In a special ceremony before the first round, Arya Roy Choudhury was formally inducted into the Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes players who attain a rating of 2000 before graduation. At ten years old, Arya is the youngest player ever to have achieved this milestone.
Winners by section
One hundred and sixty-three players competed in six sections at this year's state championship. Winners are listed below. A ⭐ next to a player's name indicates a perfect score. Results at US Chess are here.
High School Championship
First: ⭐ Lafayette Chen (4.0/4)
Second: Kiara Pavithran (3.5)
Third: Joseph Zacharias and Aryan Karn (tied, 3.0)
Teams: Oklahoma City Police Athletic League, Tulsa Chess Club
Middle School Championship
First: ⭐ Jack Xue (4.0/4)
Second: Sriyan Lageshetty (3.5)
Third: Daniel Koehn, Skyler Liu, Krishna Lolla, Ang Steele, Ramesh Naram, Quentin Noble, Titus Hakola, Aarav Mehewade (tie, 3.0)
Teams: Moore Chess Club, Academy of Classical Christian Studies
Upper Elementary Championship
First: ⭐ Aviel Ndengang (4.0/4);
Second/third: Arya Roy Choudhury and Jude Davis (tie, 3.0)
Teams: Edmond Chess Club, Tulsa Chess Club
Lower Elementary Championship
First: ⭐ Nithan Vaithlingam (5.0/5)
Second: Shivan Lageshetty (4.0)
Third: Javiana Hawkins, Leo Zhao, Trishika Manikandan, Ismail Haque, and Rian Patolia
Team: Moore Chess Club
Upper Grades (4–12) rated under 600
First: ⭐ Carson Kohn (5.0/5)
Second/third: Alan Padilla, Gunner McCarter (tie, 4.5)
Teams: Moore Chess Club, Search Chess Choctaw
Grades K–3 rated under 400:
First: ⭐ Vincent Tan (5.0/5)
Second: Aarush Karn (4.0)
Third: Marshall Byrne, Rithwin Pachipala (tie, 3.5)
Teams: OKC Police Athletic League, Search Chess Choctaw
Full tournament results, along with players' new ratings, are here.
The 2026 Jenks K–12 Open
Did you play in this tournament? Check your new rating here.
Our thanks to Shweta Sajish for these photos of today's tournament.
The Jenks K–12 Open was held Saturday, February 21 at Jenks Middle School in Tulsa. Two hundred players competed in five sections. Mike Waters was chief tournament director. Results in tiebreak order are here. Results at US Chess are here. You can look up a player's new rating or a record of their tournaments at ratings.uschess.org.
Winners are listed below. A ⭐ next to a player's name indicates a perfect score.
Section V: Premier (1300+)
⭐Arya Roy Choudhury won Premier with a perfect 4.0/4. Three players tied for second/third with 3.0 points each: Eshwar Atmakuri, Aviel Ndengang, and Viraj Singh.
Tulsa Chess Club was the winning club team in Premier. There were no school teams in this section.
Section IV (under 1300)
⭐Lorenzo Folsom and ⭐Kade Bryant tied for first in Section IV with 4.0/4 points each. Tied for third with 3.0 points each were Krishna Lolla, Finnley Combs, Jonathan Fan, and Daniel Mohanna. The winning school team was Founders Classical Academy (Bentonville, Arkansas). Moore Chess Club was the top club team.
Section III (under 900)
⭐Nathan Ly won Section III with a perfect score of 5.0/5. Tied for second with 4.5 points each were Colt Warden and Nelson Carpenter.
Porum won the Section III school team division. In second place was Founders Classical Academy (Bentonville, Arkansas). Ford (homeschool team) took third. The winning club team was Moore Chess Club.
Section II (grades 4–6 under 600)
⭐Callen Westhoff and ⭐Sanjavi Prakasam tied for first with perfect scores of 5.0/5. Six players tied for third with 4.0 points: Ian Kang, Caleb Winters, Ian Bryant, Sachin Dinesh, Naomi Plumlee, and Gunner McCarter.
Founders Classical Academy (Bentonville, Arkansas) was the winning school team. University School (Tulsa) finished in second, and Eliot Elementary (Tulsa) was third. The top club team was Jenks Chess Club.
Section I (grades K–3 under 600)
⭐Shivan Lageshetty scored a perfect 5.0 out of 5 to win Section I. Six players tied for second/third with 4.0 points each: Aarsh Raut, Jack Dennis, Trishika Manikandan, Riaan Patolia, Ismail Haque, and Brindle Morrow.
University School was the winning school team. Bixby North Elementary was second, and Broken Arrow Timber Ridge was third. The top club team was Oklahoma City Police Athletic League.
Our next tournament is the state championships on March 14. Registration is open. We'll see you there!
A record-setting Hall of Fame induction for Roy Choudhury
PHOTO: Continental Chess TD Charles Hatherhill presents Arya Roy Choudhury with the Expert section's first-place prize at the 2026 Southwest Class Championships.
Following his tremendous performance in the Southwest Class Championships last week, Arya Roy Choudhury became the youngest-ever player in the Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes OSCO players who achieve a rating over 2000.
Arya started last week's event as #74 in the 84-player Expert section, where he faced opponents whose ratings ranged from 91 to 293 points higher than his own. Despite his underdog status, the fourth grader scored 6.0 out of 7 points and won the section with a post-event rating of 2058.
The 2026 Deer Creek K-12 Open
Did you play in this tournament? Check your new rating here.
The 2026 Deer Creek K-12 Open was held Saturday, January 10 at Deer Creek Intermediate School in Edmond. 179 players competed in five sections. Josie Braddy was chief tournament director. Results at US Chess are here. Results in tiebreak order are here.
Winners are listed below. A ⭐ next to a player's name indicates a perfect score.
The 24th Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Grade Championships
Did you play in this tournament? Check your new rating here.
Section V: (Premier) All grades rated 1300+ (four rounds)
Aviel Ndengang and Jack Xue tied for first in Premier. They both scored 3.5 out of a possible 4.0. Right behind them with 3.0 points each were Aryan Karn and Viraj Singh. Norman North High School was the top school team. The top club team was OKC Police Athletic League.
Section IV: All grades rated under 1300 (four rounds)
⭐Payton Jeffies won Section IV with a perfect 4.0 out of 4. Tied with 3.0 points each were Ang Steele, Elijah Jennings, Paarth Jain, Ramesh Naram, and Jishnu Balaji. Top school team was Academy of Classical Christian Studies (OKC). Top club team was Moore Chess Club.
Section III: All grades rated under 900 (five rounds)
⭐Nithan Vaithilingam took home the first-place trophy after scoring a perfect 5.0/5. Benjamin Hong finished second with 4.5 points. Six players scored 4.0/5: Nitara Singh, Dominic Ford, Nelson Carpenter, Akshaj Gillella, Jude Davis, and Selvamithra Vaithilingam.
Porum took first place in the school team category. Wilson Elementary (OKC) was second, and School of Saint Mary (Tulsa) was third. Top club team was Moore Chess Club.
Photos by Jake Williams
The 24th Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Grade Championships were held Saturday, December 13 at Robin Hill School in Norman. 150 players competed for titles in sections according to their school grade. Organizers were Kim Mathis, who teaches third grade at Robin Hill, and OSCO volunteer Fiby Li. Josie Braddy was chief tournament director. Results at US Chess are here. Results in tiebreak order are here.
Winners are listed below. A ⭐ next to a player's name indicates a perfect score.
Section II: Grades 4–6 rated under 600 (five rounds)
⭐Zeno Kinyon won Section II with a perfect 5.0/5 score. In second place was Mukund Ponnamreddy with 4.5. Tied with 4.0 points each were Ella Huang, Beau Bryan, Dhiya Venkatesan, and Theo McCarty.
Classen SAS Middle School was the top school team. In second place was Wilson Elementary (OKC). University School (Tulsa) was third. The top club team was Moore Chess Club.
Section 1: Grades K–3 rated under 600 (five rounds)
⭐Javiana Hawkins scored a perfect 5.0/5 to win Section 1. Next was a four-way tie: Trishi Manakandan, Aarsh Raut, Brindle Morrow, and Ismail Haque each scored 4.0/5. University School (Tulsa) was the winning school team. Wilson Elementary (OKC) took second, and Bishop Public School (Lawton) was third. The top club team was Moore Chess Club.
Our next tournament is on February 21 in Tulsa. We hope you'll join us! Click here to register.
The 24th Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Grade Championships
Did you play in this tournament? Check your new rating here.
Photos by Jake Williams
The 24th Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Grade Championships were held Saturday, December 13 at Robin Hill School in Norman. 150 players competed for titles in sections according to their school grade. Organizers were Kim Mathis, who teaches third grade at Robin Hill, and OSCO volunteer Fiby Li. Josie Braddy was chief tournament director. Results at US Chess are here. Results in tiebreak order are here.
Winners are listed below. A ⭐ next to a player's name indicates a perfect score.
Grade 12 champion: Joe Zacharias
Miranda Huang finished second for grade 12, and Dominic Ford was third.
Grade 11 champion: Viraj Singh ⭐
Kelvin Xie took second place, and Payton Jeffies was third. There were no teams in this section.
Grade 10 champion: Anurag Roy Choudhury
Angelique Chen, Anurag Roy Choudhury, and Ethan Van Do tied for first place in grade 10. Roy Choudhury was named champion after winning a tightly contested blitz tiebreak round with Chen. The winning team for grade 10 was Deer Creek High School.
Grade 9 champion: Liam Bond
The ninth-grade section ended with a three-way tie for first. Winners were Liam Bond, Ivan Ding, and Kevin Chen. Tiebreaks awarded the championship title to Bond. The top team for ninth grade was Norman North High School.
Grade 8 champion: Quentin Noble
Aarav Meharwade finished second for grade eight. Next was a tie for third between five players: Lorenzo Folsom, Daniel Koehn, Finnley Combs, Ajay Basnet, and Reid Wilson. OKC Police Athletic League was the top team in this section.
Grade 7 champion: William Bui
Titus Hakola and Daniel Mohanna tied for second/third. Top team was Moore Chess Club.
Grade 6 champion: Kiara Pavithran
This year's title continues a streak for Pavithran, who also won it in grades three, four, and five. Skyler Liu and Krishna Lolla tied for second/third. OKC Police Athletic League was the winning team in this section.
Grade 5 champion: Aviel Ndengang ⭐
Paarth Jain and Prish Raut tied for second/third. The winning team was OKC Police Athletic League.
Grade 4 champion: Arya Roy Choudhury ⭐
2025 marks the fourth year in a row Roy Choudhury has won the title for his grade. Cohen Warden, Callen Westhoff, and Ezra Winters tied for second/third. Moore Chess Club was the winning team in this section.
Grade 3 champion: Lucas Li
Tiebreaks favored Lucas Li after he landed in a three-way tie for first with Leo Zhao and Nithan Vaithilingam. Top team was Moore Chess Club.
Grade 2 champion: Reyansh Srivastava
Three players tied for second in this section: Javiana Hawkins, Aarush Karn, and Ismail Haque. The winning team was OKC Police Athletic League.
Grade 1 champion: Shivan Lageshetty ⭐
Aarsh Raut took second place in this section, and Eleanor Brotemarkle finished in third. There were no teams in this section.
Our next tournament will be on January 10 in Edmond. Sign up today and get ready to play!
The Tulsa Classical Academy K-12 Open
Did you play in this tournament? Check your new rating here.
It was our biggest tournament so far this year: 181 players competed in five sections at the Tulsa Classical Academy K-12 Open on Saturday, November 15. Winners are below. Results at US Chess are here. Results in tiebreak order are here.
Premier (K–12 1300+)
Viraj Singh took first place in the event's top section, which is open to players in all grades rated 1300 and above. He scored 3.5/4 points. Tied for second with three points each were Joe Zacharias, Aviel Ndengang, and Arya Roy Choudhury.
The top club team was Tulsa Chess Club.
Section 4 (K-12 U1300)
Payton Jeffries scored a perfect 4.0 out of 4 to win Section 4 (players in all grades rated up to 1299). Four players tied for second with 3.0 points each: Sree Pichikala, Dexter Gray, Reid Wilson, and Lorenzo Folsom.
Carver Middle School (Tulsa) was the winning school team. The winning club team was Moore Chess Club.
Section 3 (K-12 U900)
Aashrith Veduvaka and Adheedhan Ezhilvanan tied for first in Section 3 (all grades rated under 900) with 4.5 out of 5 points each. Five players scored 4.0 points: Jishnu Balaji, Aarav Meharwade, Nichola Wilkerson, Zhiqian Zhu, and Titus Hakola.
Porum was the winning school team. School of Saint Mary (Tulsa) came in second, followed by Bentonville Schools in third. Top club team was Oklahoma City Police Athletic League.
Section 2 (Grades 4–6 U600)
Agasth Attili, Jr. gave us another perfect score; he won all five of his games to take first in Section 2, for players in grades 4, 5, and 6 rated 600 and below. Just a half-point behind Attili was Cohen Warden, who took second with 4.5 points. Seven players tied for third with 4.0 points each: Aiden Wilbers, Venkata Mathukumalli, Adrish Sen, Aleksei Tsetsura, Sai Sriram, Nitara Singh, and Atticus Moisant.
The winning school team was Founders Academy (Bentonville). University School (Tulsa) came in second, and School of Saint Mary (Tulsa) was third. Top club team was Moore Chess Club.
Section 1 (Grades K–3 U600)
Theo Summers scored a perfect 5.0/5 and took home the first-place trophy in Section 1. Next with 4.0 points each were Aarsh Raut, Brindle Morrow, and Andrew Thompson. to win first place in Section 1. University School (Tulsa) was the winning club team. Bixby North Elementary School took second, and School of Saint Mary (Tulsa) was third. The top club team was Jenks Chess Club.
Our next tournament is a special one: The Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Grade Championships on Saturday, December 13 in Norman. Players will compete with opponents in the same school grade. Registration is open, so sign up today and get ready to play!
The 2025 Police Athletic League K-12 Open
Did you play in this tournament? Check your new rating here.
One hundred fifty-four players competed in five sections at the Police Athletic League K-12 Open on Saturday, October 4 at U.S. Grant High School in Oklahoma City. Josie Braddy was chief tournament director.
Winners are below. Results at US Chess are here. Results in tiebreak order are here. Click here for more photos from this tournament.
Premier (K–12 1300+)
Joe Zacharias and Lafayette Chen tied for first with 3.5/4 points each. In third place with 3.0 points was Skyler Liu. OKC Police Athletic League was the top team.
Section 4 (K-12 U1300)
First-place winner Quentin Noble with a perfect 4.0/4 points. Krishna Lolla and Paarth Jain tied for second with 3.0 points each. Academy of Classical Christian Studies was the top school team. Top club team was Moore Chess Club.
Section 3 (K-12 U900)
Leo Zhao scored a perfect 5.0/5 to take first place in Section 3. Bradley Schantz finished second with 4.5. Tied for third with 4.0 points each were Payton Jeffries, Balaji Arji, Clinton Baxter, and Sriyan Lageshetty.
Porum was the top school team. In second place was Academy of Classical Christian Studies, with Durant Library Chess Club in third. Moore Chess Club was the winning club team in this section.
Section 2 (Grades 4–6 U600)
Jishnu Balaji won all five of his games to take first in Section 2. Five players tied for second place with 4.0/5 points: Colt Warden, Alejandro Folsom, Nitara Singh, Gunner McCarter, and Taytum Tittle. Top three school teams were University School, Porum, and Roosevelt Elementary. Top club team was Moore Chess Club.
Section 1 (Grades K–3 U600)
Nithan Vaithlingam scored a perfect 5.0/5 to win first place in Section 1. Reyansh Srivastava was the second place winner with 4.5 points. Tied for third with 3.5 points each were Jack Dennis and Javiana Hawkins. Wilson Elementary was the winning school team; Bishop Elementary (Lawton) took second place in that category. Top club team was OKC Police Athletic League.
Our next tournament is on Saturday, November 15 at Classical Academy in Tulsa. Registration is open—what are you waiting for?
The Porum K-12 Open
This year's season opener was OSCO's first-ever tournament in Muskogee County. Ninety-five players competed in four sections at the Porum K–12 Open on Saturday, September 13.
Porum art teacher and chess club sponsor Dwayne Barnes was the onsite organizer for the event, and Mike Waters was chief tournament director.
Winners are below. Results are here. For more photos from the event, visit Porum 2025.
Premier (K–12 1300+)
Lafayette Chen and Arya Roy Choudhury both scored 3.5 out of 4 points, ending up in a tie for first. Kelvin Xie and Viraj Singh tied for third with 3.0 points each.
Top school team was Bentonville Schools (4.5 points). OKC Police Athletic League scored 7.0 points to land the top club team award.
Section 3 (K–12 under 1300)
First place in this section was a three-way tie between Rushil Karande, Finnley Combs, and Krishna Lolla. All three scored 4.0 out of 5 points.
Academy of Classical Christian Studies (6.5 points) was the first-place school team. Top club team was Moore Chess Club (5.0 points).
Section 2 (K–12 under 900)
Arkansas player Ishaan Prathyush swept Section 2, taking first place with a perfect score of 5.0/5. Behind him in a tie for second/third were Aarav Meharwade and Antony Mohanna.
Top school teams were Porum (first, 10.5 points) and School of Saint Mary (second, 8.5 points)
OKC Police Athletic League was the winning club team.
Section 1 (K–3 under 600)
Also ending the day with a perfect score was Reyansh Srivastava, whose 5.0/5 sweep landed him the first-place trophy. Marshall Byrne and Javiana Hawkins tied for second/third with 3.0 points each.
Webbers Falls was the winning school team, ending the day at 5.5 points. The second-place school team award went to Dove Science Academy Tulsa. OKC Police Athletic League scored 7.5 to take the first-place club team award.
Saturday, September 13 in Porum
OSCO's newest Hall of Famer: Elizabeth Braddy
With her outstanding performance at the 22nd Susan Polgar Foundation Girls' Invitational (June 23–25 in St. Louis), Elizabeth Braddy moved past the 2000 rating mark, earning a place in the Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Hall of Fame. She is the tenth player to achieve this distinction.
PHOTO: Elizabeth Braddy with Grandmaster Susan Polgar in St. Louis
Oklahoma's Anurag Roy Choudhury wins big at Universal Open
Anurag Roy Choudhury was the ratings underdog in six out of his seven games at the 2nd Universal Open (June 12–14 in Dallas). But six out of seven was also his final score, landing him a clear first-place win in the event's Under 1500 section.
PHOTO: Universal Open U1500 winner Anurag Roy Choudhury (at right) with Aryan Karn, Kirhika Duggisetty and Arya Roy Choudhury.
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