Results of the 2023 Guy Ontai State Scholastic Chess Championship Tournament
Cover photo: Third-grader Echae Kim makes a move in the final seconds of the game where he defeated Hawaii's extreme chess prodigy, fifth-grader Kevin Ching. (Kevin is over 2100 for blitz, rapid and bullet chess at chess.com.) This was the most important upset victory of the tournament, because the game determined Hawaii's representative to the Rockefeller Tournament of Elementary School Champions. Echae is the official representative now. Tom Antin, who is standing right behind him, is the alternate. At the far left, HCF President Ryan Tongg watches the fascinating endgame.
Tournament Report:
163 players participated in the 2023 K-12 State Chess Championship, more than twice the number from 2022. Gabriel White delivered the opening remarks, encouraging young players to overcome setbacks and keep learning. All participants listened attentively, because Gabriel is the 2023 Hawaii State Champion at every time control (classical, quick and blitz), and he was our Denker tournament representative because he tied for first in the Hawaii State 9-12 section last year, with Benjamin Kim.
SwissSys Results USCF Rating Report
Gabriel White (center) watches Benjamin Kim (left) and Mark Chen (right) fight to a draw in the final round.
2023 K-12 Scholastic Hawaii Chess Champions:
- High School: Mark Chen & Benjamin Kim (co-champions)
- Middle School: Koapaka Satterfield & Kyle Ching (co-champions)
- Elementary School: Echae Kim
- Primary School: Alexander Bow-Smith
(As predicted in the previous article, all six of these winners have a K sound in their name! 
)
2023 Hawaii School Team Chess Champions:
- High School (9-12): Punahou School
- Middle School (6-8): Home School
- Elementary School (3-5): Punahou School
- Primary School (K-2): Pearl City Elementary
2023 Hawaii Grade-level Chess Champions
- K: Alice Dmitriev
- 1: Laguna Jabola-Ing
- 2: Alexander Bow-Smith
- 3: Echae Kim
- 4: Ryden Yagi
- 5: Tom Antin
- 6: Koapaka Satterfield
- 7: Jared Urbano & Spencer Pinho
- 8: Kyle Ching
- 9: Tyler Ching
- 10: Mark Chen & Benjamin Kim
- 11: Caleb White
- 12: Brandon Li
Congratulations to everyone who was courageous enough to show up and battle these brilliant young minds for the trophies and titles. Congratulations to everyone who learned more about handling strong emotions and disappointment -- important skills that support clear, complex thinking. Mahalo to all the coaches, parents, aunties and uncles, grandpas and grandmas who came to the tournament and helped everything go smoothly for the kids. We hope to see many of you at the next tournament on May 29th. Please bring a tent for your team!
Damian Nash, Sean Uezu, Ryan Tongg and the HCF Board.
