Lincoln chess team won 9th place at State. Pictured from left is Andrew Bausch, Dylan Waterland, Elliot Moore, Josiah Burden and Gideon Johnson. Photo provided.

News Release

WARSAW — The 2024 chess season at Warsaw Community Schools will go down in the record books.

On Saturday, Jan. 20, WCS hosted the Indiana State Individual Scholastic Chess Regional. Over 120 young players from across northern Indiana came to Warsaw to try and qualify for the state final in Indianapolis.

Several players from Warsaw qualified for the state final and competed at the event. Fareed Sultan Mohammed, a chess player from Washington S.T.E.M. Academy won state champion at the event in the upper elementary junior varsity division.

On Saturday, Feb. 24, nine teams from Warsaw competed at the Indiana State Chess Team Regional in Goshen. Teams were comprised of players from Edgewood Middle, Jefferson Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Madison Elementary and Washington Elementary schools.

All nine teams qualified for the state final in March. Top performance went to the Madison third and under chess team, which placed third in the third grade and under section.

The annual Warsaw Chess Tournament, Checkmate Hunger, was held at Washington Saturday, March 9, and 130 players from WCS participated in the event with representative from every school in the district. Many players earned trophies at the event and, more importantly, a sizable amount of money was raised to help feed needy families in Haiti.

The Indiana Chess Team State Championship was Saturday, March 23, in Hammond. The nine teams that qualified at regional participated in the event. Top teams from Warsaw came in the third and under section. Lincoln placed ninth, Madison placed fifth and Washington placed third. All teams represented Warsaw with class.

On Saturday, April 27, the Indiana State Girls Chess Championship took place. In the primary division, Azra Anwar tied for first but was awarded second place due to tiebreaks. Maryam Anwar placed fourth in the championship division, a notable accomplishment in a very competitive group.

The weekend of April 26-28 was the kindergarten through sixth grade chess nationals held in Columbus, Ohio. The third grade and under chess team from Madison placed first overall in the third grade and under unrated section competing against players from across the United States.

The Warsaw Chess Club appreciates the Warsaw Education Foundation and American Table Restaurant for its years of patronage and support of the chess programs at Warsaw Community Schools.