Chess in Idaho

Last updated
Chess in Idaho
Top PlayerChristofer Peterson (2243 USCF)
ChampionJames Wei, Josh Price, & Cody Gorman
USCF AffiliateIdaho Chess Association
Active Players258

Chess inIdaho refers to competitive chess played within the state of Idaho. As of August 2025, Idaho has 258 active players registered with the United States Chess Federation. [1] The current USCF Idaho state affiliate is the Idaho Chess Association. [2] [3]

Contents

History

In 2009, at age 10, Luke Vellotti from Boise became the highest-rated chess player in Idaho. [4] By 2013, Vellotti became the top-ranked chess player under 15 in the United States. [5] He began attending the University of California, Los Angeles at age 14.

Around 2016, a teenage Nathan Barry designed a logo for the Idaho Chess Association. [6]

In May 2017, grandmaster Timur Gareyev travelled around Idaho to promote chess education. [7] The trip was sponsored by the Blaine County School District (BCSD) Chess Club. GM Timur began the trip by playing blindfold chess with 18 players at Memorial Park in Boise. The next day, GM Timur travelled to Silver Creek High School, where he participated in a Socratic discussion and attended a chess lesson taught in sign language. One week prior to his trip, he trained the BSCD Chess Club Middle School chess team at that year's Supernationals in Knoxville, TN.

Throughout 2021, David Rush sought to break a world record every week. [8] Rush ultimately broke 43 records, two being "Fastest time to arrange a chess set" and "Fastest time to arrange a chess set (team of two)". [8] [9] [10]

In May 2025, 13-year-old Griffin Baldwin from Eagle captured local attention when he defeated local news anchor Scott McLinden in a friendly match before heading off to the Chess SuperNationals in Orlando, Florida. [11]

Competitions

The Idaho Chess Association invites top players from the state's scholastic chess championship to the Idaho Tournament of Champions and to major national competitions. [12] [13]

Competitors

As of August 2025, the following people are the top rated active USCF players from Idaho: [1]

PositionNameUSCF RatingUSCF Titles
1Christofer Peterson2243National Master, Candidate Master (norms-based)
2Jeff S Gamble2140National Master, 3rd Category
3James Wei21201st Category
4Josh Price20351st Category
5Larry R Parsons2000National Master, 1st Category
6Michael Edward Cambareri19681st Category
7Caleb Kircher19661st Category
8Linus Quinn Wannamaker19562nd Category
9Zygmond Mayer19201st Category
10Finn Belew18921st Category

Other top Idaho chess players who aren't currently active USCF members include Singer Coats (2401 Rating), FM James J Maki (2323 Rating), and NM Michael D Gold (2310 Rating). [14]

List of state champions

№YearWinner(s)Notes
11947Charles H. Stewart
21948Mel Schubert
31949Charles H. Stewart (2)
41950LaVerl Kimpton
51951LaVerl Kimpton (2) & Glen BuckendorfTie [15]
61952LaVerl Kimpton (3)
71953LaVerl Kimpton (4)
81954Glen Buckendorf (2)
91955Dick Vandenburg
101956Glen Buckendorf (3)
111957Glen Buckendorf (4)
121958Dick Vandenburg (2)
131959Glen Buckendorf (5)
141960Glen Buckendorf (6)
151961George Krauss Jr.
161962George Krauss Jr. (2)
171963Dick Vandenburg (3)
181964Dick Vandenburg (4)
191965Dick Vandenburg (5)
201966Bert Germalm
211967Glen Buckendorf (7)
221968Glen Buckendorf (8)
231969Wolfgang Freese
241970Rex Wilcox
251971David Reynods
261972Glen Buckendorf (9)
271973Harold Moye
281974Kenneth Sanderson
291975Gregory T. Perryman
301976William Whitacre
311977Dick Vandenburg (6) & Larry R. ParsonsTie [15]
321978William Whitacre (2)
331979Larry R. Parsons (2)
341980Richard Burchett
351981Yge Visser & Richard Burchett (2)Tie [15]
361982Paul Johnson & Larry R. Parsons (3)Tie [15]
371983Larry R. Parsons (4)
381984Larry R. Parsons (5)
391985Paul Johnson (2)
401986Leslie R. Colin
411987Larry R. Parsons (6)
421988Stewart Q. Sutton & Steven AllieTie [15]
431989Larry R. Parsons (7)
441990Joseph Kennedy
451991Joseph Kennedy (2)
461992Joseph Kennedy (3)
471993Michael A. Henderson
481994Larry R. Parsons (8) & Daniel D. DrummTie [15]
491995John B. Carr & Jim A. McClureTie [15]
501996Larry R. Parsons (9)
511997Leroy Hill & Larry R. Parsons (10) & Stewart Q. Sutton (2)Tie [15]
521998Larry R. Parsons (11)
531999Larry R. Parsons (12)
542000Larry R. Parsons (13)
552001Larry R. Parsons (14) & Stewart Q. Sutton (3) & Glen Buckendorf (10)Tie [15]
562002Michael D. Gold & Larry R. Parsons (15)Tie [15]
572003Michael D. Gold (2)
582004Stewart Q. Sutton (4) & Dylan T. Smith & David J. EackerTie [15]
592005Karl T. Disher
602006Garrett Reynolds & Daniel A. TaylorTie [15]
612007Hans M. Morrow
622008Doitchin Krastev *
632009Garrett Reynolds (2)
642010Phil Weyland & Larry R. Parsons (16) & Doitchin Krastev (2) *Tie [15]
652011Caleb P. Abernathy
662012Larry R. Parsons (17) & Blake FurlowTie [15]
672013Larry R. Parsons (18)
682014Caleb Paul Kircher
692015David Lucky
702016David Lucky (2)
712017David Lucky (3)
722018Alex Machin
732019Jacob Nathan & Kevin XuTie [15]
742020Jacob Nathan (2)
752021Larry R. Parsons (19)
762022Kaustubh Kodihalli
772023James Wei, Kaustubh Kodihalli (2), & Josh PriceTie [15]
782024James Wei (2)
792025James Wei (3), Josh Price (2), Cody GormanTie [15]

References

  1. 1 2 "Top Rated Players in ID". The United States Chess Federation. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  2. ↑ "Club Search and Affiliate Directory". The United States Chess Federation. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  3. ↑ "Idaho Chess Association". Idaho Chess Association. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  4. ↑ Levin, Bryan (2015-06-29). "'There are more pandas in the world than grandmasters': Harmon-Vellotti moving up in the chess world". KBOI. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  5. ↑ "14-year-old math, chess prodigy enrolls at UCLA". UCLA. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  6. ↑ Kyle, Zach (2021-04-16). "This Boisean dropped out of college, built multimillion-dollar firm you've never heard of". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  7. ↑ Shahade, Jennifer (2017-07-15). "Blindfold in Idaho: "I Feel Sorry if You Missed it." | US Chess.org". new.uschess.org. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  8. 1 2 Treisman, Rachel (2022-01-27). "Idaho man says he completed his goal of breaking 52 world records in a single year". NPR. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  9. ↑ "Watch: Idaho man sets up chess board in 30 seconds for Guinness record - UPI.com". UPI. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  10. ↑ "Watch: Idaho couple breaks record for setting up chess board - UPI.com". UPI. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  11. ↑ Staff, CBS2 News (2025-05-05). "Idaho teen chess prodigy heads to SuperNationals after defeating our Anchor". KBOI. Retrieved 2025-08-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ None (2024-03-28). "Locals do well in chess competitions". Coeur d'Alene Press. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  13. ↑ "Idaho State Scholastic Championship announced". Idaho Chess Association. 2022-03-07. Archived from the original on 2025-05-12. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  14. ↑ "Top Rated Players in ID (includes non-active players)". www.uschess.org. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Idaho Chess Association - Our Champions". Idaho Chess Association. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
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