“If you play the Caro-Kann when you are young, then what will you play when you are old?”
-Bent Larsen

Important Links
My (now inactive) YouTube Channel
My USCF account
My dad's chess.com account
My mom's chess.com account
My first ever game

About Me

I'm Zackamura, a budding chess player and former youtuber, pickleball intermediate (3.0), game developer of RiceOS 98 (not coming soon!), and proud ethical omnivore.

I’m inactive in chess.com communities; will only play games on this website.

My Notable Achievements

-Won the 2026 Wisconsin State K-8 Scholastic Championship!
-Tied for 1st in the 2025 Wisconsin State K-8 Scholastic Championship
-Took 5th in the 2025 Wisconsin Junior Open
-Won ~5 minor scholastic and open tournaments
-Beat and drew experts in USCF-rated events
-Almost drew a GM in blitz (!)
-Got a story published in Humor in Chess IV
-Skyrocketed my chess.com rating from 650 (old account) to 1800 in 2 years & 8 months
-Still never lost to Magnus Carlsen!

Featured Games

Positional Capitulation

Channeling Alekhine

Tournament Log

8/4/2027-8/7/2027 - 2027 Barber
Not Coming Soon

5/14/2026-5/17/2026 - 2026 National Middle School Championships (Blitz, K-8 U1700)
Coming Soon

4/25/2026-4/26/2026 - 2026 U.S. Amateur Individual North (Amateur U1600)
Coming Soon

4/11/2026 - 2026 Wisconsin and Blitz State Championships (Rapid Open, Blitz)
My first tournament as a full state champion. It was split up into two events: the Rapid and the Evening Blitz. In the Rapid, I lost to an 1800 before beating a 900 and a 2000-rated player and finally missing a relatively basic tactic against an unrated player (remember, I was tired at this point!). In the Blitz, I scored 5/10 and increased my rating by 45 points (the next day I play you, I WILL win, Shashwath!)

3/21/2026-3/22/2026 - 2026 WI State Scholastic Championship (K-8)
I WON!!!!!!!!! I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2/22/2026 - 2/23/2026 - 2026 U.S. Amateur Team North (U1600)
My first team tournament! I played on a team organized by the Pawn Stormers with my rivals-turned-teammates Max Wei, Mason Dong, and Rohan Banerjee. Although our average rating was about 1300 in the U1600 section, causing me to gain rating despite personally scoring 1.5/5, we managed to win 2 matches and have a good time. A stronger Pawn Stormers Team, fielding Chase, Bryce and Adrianna Adrian, was also there.

1/31/2026-2/1/2026 - 59th Northeastern Open (Reserve)
Beat an 1100, drew a 1700, and lost to a 1750 and 1900 (I took a third-round bye). Except for the strong competition, this was a run-of-the-mill event.

12/27/2025-12/28/2025 - 2025 North Central Open (Reserve)
Drew 3 Class B players on the first day before being forced to withdraw due to the weather. It was quite disappointing, considering I was on track to win $200 as the top U1501.

11/8/2025-11/9/2025 - 2025 Wisconsin Junior Open (K-8 Open)
Placed 5th in the K-8 section, beating three beginners and a 1400 (who hung mate in 1!) and losing to a 1700 after blowing a won position. Also finished as the top Class D player.

10/11/2025 - 2025 WSCF National Chess Day Tournament (K-12 Open)
Took clear first after beating five weak players in this unrated event. I won a trophy and a set of Play Winning Chess books.

9/13/2025 - 2025 Wisconsin State G/60 Championships (Reserve)
Beat an 1100-rated player before losing to two 1250-rated players (one of them finished 2nd). Withdrew from the tournament before the last round due to fatigue and mild headache from caffeine.

8/17/2025 - Frisco Swiss (U1400)
I begged my mom to sign me up for this tournament during our three-day vacation in Texas. She obliged and I beat four E and D players in a row to take clear first. Sounds great, but I got sick the day after this tournament and couldn’t enjoy the rest of the vacation.

8/03/2025 - 2025 U.S. Open Scholastic (K-12 Open)
I was lucky that this tournament was in my home state for my first year of tournaments. I beat an 1800-rated player, my highest-rated win ever in OTB, before losing to an 1800-rated player, drawing with
(you guessed it!) an 1800 rated player, and finally collapsing and losing to a 1000-rated player. Afterward, I promised to myself I wouldn’t drink any more caffeine during tournaments, but repeated this misdoing (for the last time, I swear!) a month later at the G/60 championships.

8/02/2025 - 2025 U.S. Open Blitz Championship
Scored 7/14, tying for the best unrated player (this was my first blitz tournament), beating 1700s, and drawing 2000s. Won $29 and met Dewain Barber (I WILL go to your tournament next year!!). Got my first blitz rating of 1445.

7/20/2025 - Old Guard Games - 3rd Date 2025
Beat three beginners to take first place in this tiny event, which was advertised on a website that didn’t display advance entries. I won a $25 gift card to their store, and my rating rose by a grand total of 1 point.

6/28/2025-6/29/2025 - 2025 Green Bay Open (Reserve)
This was my dad’s first and only chess tournament, in which he scored 2/5 to get a provisional rating of 518. Thinking about my dad made me nervous, causing me to only score 3/5, losing to a 1200 and drawing a beginner and unrated player.

5/09/2025-5/11/2025 - Supernationals VIII (K-8 U1400)
This was hands-down the best tournament I’ve ever played at in my entire life, and probably will be forever. I scored 4.5/7, skyrocketing my rating from 1155 to 1336, and between rounds I enjoyed the amazing tropical vibe, beautiful weather, tournament atmosphere, outdoor hotel pool area, and team room (I played as an individual, but as a Silver Knights member at the time, I got access to their team room and chatted with some online friends).

4/27/2025 - April Scholastic Swiss
I took third place in this club event, beating three extremely underrated 100-rated players, losing to a 1350, and reconnecting with a friendly rival. Despite taking home a trophy, I lost 10 rating points after this event and also took home a sickness.

4/19/2025 - 4/20/2025 - 2025 U.S. Amateur Individual North (Amateur U1600)
I beat a beginner, lost to a 1300, and drew a 1400 and 1250 in this run-of-the-mill event. I had to withdraw from the last game for personal reasons.

Earlier Tournaments Will Not Be Added