Results of the 2024 Mississippi Scholastic Championships

Read about the results of the Mississippi Scholastic Chess Championships - Individual Championship, Girls Championship, and Team Championship

The Mississippi Chess Scholastic Championships are a series of tournaments organized by the Mississippi Chess Association each year. The winners of each tournament are recognized as the official scholastic chess State Champions in Mississippi. We use this tournaments to determine the nominees to national invitational tournaments. These tournaments are operated under the regulations of the US Chess Federation and also offer players the chance to obtain or improve a rating.

Individual Championship - January 13-14, 2024 - St. Andrews

The individual scholastic chess championship was a 2-day weekend event held on the weekend leading into Martin Luther King Jr. Day. With a generous time control that mirrors our open state championship, this tournament allows players plenty of time to consider their next move. We awarded places 1st through 3rd in the following grade categories: K-3, K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each player played 5 games with no elimination. Players may play any other player in their grade category, including someone from their own school.

This event also decided our Mississippi nominees for no less than 3 national invitational scholastic tournaments, including the Denker Tournament of High School Champions (9-12), the Barber Tournament of Champions (6-8), and the Rockefeller Tournament of Elementary School State Champions (K-5).

The tournament was really competitive, with 3 out of 4 sections decided by playoff tiebreaks. The tiebreak format was two faster games at a time control of G/10 inc/5.

Grades K-3

1st Owen Young - Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School

2nd Corbin Duncan - Franklin County Lower Elementary

3rd Luke Tabor - First Presbyterian Day School

The K-3 section was won by newcomer Owen Young. Owen had only played one previous tournament, but recovered from a 1st round loss and after a bye won his final 3 games to tie for 1st. While such a result would typically mean a tough tiebreak if decided by traditional tiebreaks, Owen strongly took advantage of our playoff format by winning the tiebreaks 2-0.

Second place was claimed by Corbin Duncan, who finished 4-1 and prior to the tiebreak had only lost to the 3rd place finisher. Third place was claims by Luke Tabor, who finished 3.5-1.5 only losing to the winner and drawing against another experienced player.

From left: Corbin Duncan, Owen Young, Luke Tabor

Grades K-5

1st Patrick Tabor - First Presbyterian Day School

2nd Daniel Wu - Madison Avenue Upper Elementary

3rd Timothy Gray - Franklin County Upper Elementary

The K-5 section was notable in having 5 players who tied for 1st at 4-1. All experienced players, they were all playing in somewhere between their 19th and 60th rated chess tournament! The players in the playoff included Patrick Tabor, Daniel Wu, Timothy Gray Jr, Neil Witherow, and Ellis Cade Smithhart. Patrick Tabor had the toughest path to the tiebreak, having played all of his games against players in the top 9 finishers out of 22.

Due to the number of tied players, a 5 player all-play-all mini-tiebreak tournament was held where each player played each other once. With an odd number of players, only 4 players would play at a time. Each was scheduled to play 4 games over 5 rounds with one game off. The players were in great spirits and had a great time. Patrick Tabor, who had his round off scheduled for the last round, won his first 4 games and clinched first place, making the last round unnecessary.

Clockwise from bottom left: Ellis Cade Smithhart, Patrick Tabor, Timothy Gray Jr., and Daniel Wu

Only first place is decided by playoff tiebreaks, so second and third were decided based on traditional tiebreaks during the regular tournament. This led to Daniel Wu and Timothy Gray, Jr. taking 2nd and 3rd respectively.

From left: Patrick Tabor, Daniel Wu, Timothy Gray

Grades 6-8

1st Will Hutchins - Franklin County Middle School

2nd Andy Ngo - Northwest Rankin Middle School

3rd Jaylen Marshall - Franklin County Middle School 

The 6-8 section was the largest of the event, with plenty of experienced players. Two of those players - Will Hutchins and Andy Ngo - won all those games until they met and drew in the last round. Will narrowly escaped the first tiebreak by losing and then winning a must-win game. Both players preferred to repeat the tiebreak format rather than go to an Armageddon game, and Will won the second tiebreak 2-0. Based on a traditional tiebreak, Jaylen Marshall, who had gone an impressive 4-1, finished 3rd ahead of classmate Parker Canton Myers.

 

From left: Will Hutchins, Douglas Stewart

Grades 9-12

1st Benson Schexnaydre - Franklin County High School

2nd Ryan Wu - Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science

3rd Clayton Thrasher - Jackson Classical Homeschool Program

Our only sweep of this year's tournament was in the 9-12 section where Benson Schexnaydre went 5-0. Benson is a senior and USCF Candidate Master and the highest rated active player of any age in Mississippi. This accomplishment joins many others, including 4 overall state championships.

Standard tiebreaks decided a 3-way tie for 2nd place with Ryan Wu and Clayton Thrasher finishing 2nd and 3rd place ahead of Ella Grace Kinney.

From left: Douglas Stewart, Benson Schexnaydre

Girls Championship - February 17, 2024 - Jackson Prep

The girls championship was a 1-day Saturday event held on an overcast February day at Jackson Prep. We awarded 1st through 3rd place in the following categories by rating: the Championship Open section and the Reverse section open to those with ratings under 600.. Each player played 4 games with no elimination. Players may play any other player in their grade category, including someone from their own school.

The time control was 45 minutes with a 15-second increment added after each move. While this creates uncertainty with regard to the tournament finish time, it also allows the players a little more time to consider their next move, even if they get low on time. Fortunately, we didn't have any really long-running games the tournament moved briskly.

This event also decided our Mississippi nominee for at least one national invitational scholastic tournament, the Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions. As with previous years, there may also be a Susan Polgar invitational tournament. This tournament is usually announced a little later and last year invited two players from each state.

The last two years there has been a surge in attendance for this event. From 10 players playing this event in 2022 to 36 in 2024, girls chess in Mississippi is growing quickly! Next year we expect to expand the tournament with at least one more section.

Open Section

1st Kaleigh King - Franklin County High School

2nd Ella Grace Kinney - Tishomingo County High School

3rd Rositha Macha - Northwest Rankin Middle School

Pre-tournament favorites were clearly Ella Grace Kinney and Kaleigh King, both Class C (1400-1599) rated players had outrated the field by 400 points. Kinney was coming off a tie for 2nd place in the overall individual championship in January and also a high school basketball Friday night. The pre-tournament favorites met in round 3.

From left: Ella Grace Kinney, Kaleigh King

Pretty special moment for that round 3 game. Not sure if we have ever had two female players in Mississippi (of any age) – both rated over 1400 – play a game. After a tense game, Kaleigh prevailed and took control of the tournament. In the last round, both Kinney and King won to make Kaleigh our champion at an undefeated 4-0. Kinney won 2nd based on a computer tiebreak, ahead of middle school student Rositha Macha who finished 3rd.

Special note that Elizabeth Polk from Jackson Prep chose to play in the Open section despite qualifying for the U600 section. This allowed her to compete for the overall girls state championship and her competitive spirit was noticed and is encouraged!

Reserve Section

1st Sophia Trasher - Jackson Classical Homeschool Program

2nd Dhriti Gummadi

3rd Cole Heubach - Canton Academy

In the Reserve section (open to players with ratings under 600), there was a very full roster of players. So full that, with 29 players, we got to the end of the tournament with two perfect 4–0 scores - veteran player Sophia Thrasher and Ohio transplant Dhriti Gummadi. Thrasher found herself in a must-win game after dropping the first game of the 2-game tiebreak. From there, she won three in a row by tying the first tiebreak and sweeping the second to win 1st place. Gummadi (with a 4-0 score) took 2nd place. Cole Heubach, at 3-1, took 3rd in a computer tiebreak, breaking a logjam that included Heubach and other 3-1 players Chandlyr Mckinney, Ivynn Eilani Weathersby, Makayla Maretha Davis, Rut Garcia, and Spanda Hebbar.

Clockwise from left: Vincent Sun, Sophia Trasher, Josh Griffin, Dhriti Gummadi

Team Championship - March 23, 2024 - St. Andrews

The team championship was a 1-day Saturday event held in March at St. Andrews. We awarded 1st and 2nd team prizes in the following categories by grade: K-12, K-8, K-6, K-5, and K-3. Schools in Mississippi at the elementary level are organized in varied grade levels, which is why overlapping sections like K-6, K-5, and K-3 all exist. 

The standard format was 4 team matches without elimination. Each team consists of 4 team members and alternates. Schools may have more than one team if they have enough players and those teams might have to play each other. As is common at this event, some sections (K-3 and K-6 this year) played fewer than 4 rounds (3) due to having less than 5 teams. We prefer shortening the tournament than to combine sections and have teams playing against teams of different grade ranges.

Each round, the team with white gets white on boards 1 and 3 and black on boards 2 and 4 against the players from the opposing team. Teams are awarded team points each round based on how many points they score versus the other team. A score of > 2 is 1 team point, 2 points is ½ team points, and < 2 is 0 team points. Team members may not consult except for a limited exception - a player can ask the captain (or coach/teacher at the lower grades) whether to pursue or not pursue a draw based solely on the competitive situation of the team.

The time control was 45 minutes with a 15-second increment added after each move. While this creates uncertainty with regard to the tournament finish time, it also allows the players a little more time to consider their next move, even if they get low on time. Fortunately, we didn't have any really long-running games the tournament moved briskly.

This event is not a feeder into any kind of national event, but awards state team championships in 1st and 2nd place in each grade group.

Grades K-3

Franklin County Lower Elementary had an impressive showing in a shortened 3-round section. Their team always swept the competition 4-0, leaving both their team and all of their players with perfect scores. Their players included Weston Lunsford at board 1, Corbin Duncan at board 2, Ashton Barnes at board 3, and Brantley Van Etten at board 4. Madison Avenue finished 2nd at 2-1. 

1st place Franklin County Lower Elementary, from left: Imori Weathersby, Corbin Duncan, Ahston, Barnes, Weston Lunsford, Brantley Van Etten

Grades K-5

The K-5 section was notable in having 5 players who tied for 1st at 4-1. All experienced players, they were all playing in somewhere between their 19th and 60th rated chess tournament! The players in the playoff included Patrick Tabor, Daniel Wu, Timothy Gray Jr, Neil Witherow, and Ellis Cade Smithhart. Patrick Tabor had the toughest path to the tiebreak, having played all of his games against players in the top 9 finishers out of 22.

There were 5 players with perfect board scores, which is rare in a tournament like this. The St. Augustine and Franklin County teams never met, allowing two players to be 4-0 on board 2. The perfect board scores included:

• Daniel Wu - Madison Avenue Upper Elementary - board 1
• Ellis Smithhart - Franklin County Upper Elementary - board 2
• Levi Chen - St. Augustine - board 2
• Evan Wu - Madison Avenue Upper Elementary - board 3
• Jackson Perry - Franklin County Upper Elementary - board 4

With Franklin County and Madison Avenue having a draw in round 3 and otherwise winning their matches, we ended up with two teams tied for first at 3.5-0.5. During the playoffs, these teams played again. Franklin County was pretty quickly up 2-0 after winning on boards 2 and 4 and had to win the other two games to repeat the playoff. In a very combative game where her opponent tried his best in a difficult position, Kay'l Jones won a decisive 3rd party to win the playoff and the section for Franklin County. After the playoff playoffs, the final results were Franklin County (4-0) 1st and Madison Avenue (4-0) 2nd. The winning Franklin County team consisted of Timothy Gray Jr. on board 1, Ellis Smithhart on board 2, Kay'l Jones on board 3, and Jackson Perry on board 4.

1st place Franklin County Upper Elementary, from left: Jackson Perry, Ellis Smithhart, Kay'l Jones, Timothy Gray Jr

Grades K-6

The K-6 section had 4 teams and was played over 3 rounds. A balanced section with no clear favorite, it was very competitive, with 2 draws out of the 6 total team matches. Prior to the last round, all the strongest teams had drawn each other, but in the last round, St. Augustine separated themselves by beating Franklin County. This left St. Augustine (2.5-0.5) in 1st place, First Pres (2-1) in 2nd place, and Franklin County (1.5-1.5) in 3rd. The winning St. Augustine team consisted of Neil Witherow on board 1, Caleb Chen on board 2, Noah Norman on board 3, and Mark Bombgaars on board 4.

There were 3 players with perfect board scores over the 3 rounds. The perfect board scores included:

• Patrick Tabor - St. Augustine - board 1
• Ivynn Weathersby - Franklin County - board 3
• Mark Bomgaars - St. Augustine - board 4

Grades 6-8

The 6-8 section was a large section, with two of the schools (Northwest Rankin and Franklin County) fielding two teams. The Franklin County teams swept the competition through the first two rounds and then met in Round 3. Despite the presence of some experienced players on the ‘B’ team, the ‘A’ team won 4-0. In the last round, the Franklin County ‘A’ team took care of business against the top Northwest Rankin team, while the ‘B’ team drew the Jackson Prep team. After a computer tiebreak for second place, the Franklin County ‘A’ finished 1st and the Franklin County ‘B’ team finished in second ahead of Jackson Prep. The Franklin County ‘A’ team included Will Hutchins on board 1, Jaylen Marshall on board 2, Parker Myers on board 3, and Jecoree Walker on board 4.

There were 4 players with perfect board scores. The perfect board scores included:

• Gavin Legend - Clinton Junior High School - board 1
• Jaylen Marshall - Franklin County Middle School A - board 2
• Parker Myers - Franklin County Middle School A - board 3
• Jecoree Walker - Franklin County Middle School A - board 4

1st Place Franklin County Middle School A, from left: Jecoree Walker, Chief TD Douglas Stewart, Will Hutchins, Jaylen Marshall, Parker Myers

Grades 9-12

The high school section was also a large section. Congrats to Jackson Prep for bringing 3 high school teams! The Franklin County team, having both the individual K-12 (and overall state) and the girls state champions, swept all of their team matches and had 3 of their players finish with perfect board scores. In the battle for second place, both the Jackson Classical Homeschool Program and the Jackson Prep ‘B’ team came from behind and won their last round matches to tie for second place at 2.5-1.5. Jackson Classical Homeschool Program prevailed in a computer tiebreak to finish 2nd after Franklin County's 1st. The winning Franklin County team had Benson Schexnaydre on board 1, Kaleigh King on board 2, Austin Johnson on board 3, and Jamie Woodard on board 4.

There were 3 players with perfect board scores. The perfect board scores included:

• Benson Schexnaydre - Franklin County High School - board 1
• Austin Johnson - Franklin County High School - board 3
• Jamie Woodard - Franklin County High School - board 4

1st Place Franklin County High School, from left: Austen Johnson, Jamie Woodard, Benson Schexnaydre, Chief TD Douglas Stewart, Kaleigh King

2nd Place Jackson Classical Homeschool Program, from left: Alex Meredith, Isaac Geisbert, Jasper Branning, Clayton Thrasher

Extra Individuals Section

For the second year in a row, we had a side event for alternates and individuals that did not have a team. We had 25 individuals participating in some portion of that event. After 4 rounds, we had 4 players tied for first: Caleb Geisbert, Jai Moss, Hentash Maraka, and Marcellus Carradine. As Carradine could not stay for the playoffs, we ended up with a 3-way playoff with Geisbert, Moss, and Hentash. After all the players finished 1-1 in the first playoff, we repeated the format and Geisbert won his first two games to clinch first. 

National Scholastic Invitational Tournaments

Tournament	Nominee	Alternate
Denker Tournament of High School Champions (9-12)	Benson Schexnaydre	Ryan Wu
Barber Tournament of Middle School Champions (6-8)	Will Hutchins	Andy Ngo
Rockefeller Tournament of Elementary School State Champions (K-5)	Patrick Tabor	Daniel Wu
Ruth Haring Tournament of Girls State Champions	Kayleigh King	Ella Grace Kinney

By the Numbers

We had another year over year of growth in attendance at the MCA scholastic tournaments. Most notable has been the dramatic increase in attendance at the girls event. Thank you to all of our players, parents, teachers, and coaches for making this happen. A very special thank you to St. Andrews and Jackson Prep for providing the sites for these events.

Tournament	2022 Attendance	2023 Attendance	2024 Attendance
Individual	90	87	88
Girls	10	23	36
Team	74	138	144
TOTAL	174	248	268

Thank You Tournament Directors!

These are large tournaments that require a large group of people to run. I'd like to recognize all the tournament directors that volunteered their time:

• Mark Nicholas
• Paul Smith
• Chris Baker
• Will Tabor
• Josh Griffin
• Jifeng Han

We always welcome other interested individuals who want to learn how to help run tournaments. We will help you through the process of getting signed up and train you.

Other Notes

• This year we added online registration. This was implemented part way through the registration for our first tournament. We appreciate everyone who self-registered this year and look forward to using online registration from now on.
• We also added email communication through Constant Contact this year. This appears to have been well received, as I have not seen anyone unsubscribe after receiving our emails yet. Our general approach is to only email those who have participated in related tournaments this year or last year.
• This scholastic season we had a year of stability. We kept the format of our tournaments almost all the same. We had the same sites, and we kept the tournaments in the same order with the same structure. We appreciate Jackson Prep and St. Andrews for again hosting our scholastic chess tournament. Thank you to Richard Younce and Paul Smith for coordinating the sites and bringing your chess teams.
• I use the pictures I have received or can find in this article. If you have additional/better ones please send them my way and I may add them.