| Chess in Wyoming | |
|---|---|
| Top Player | Daniel Joelson (2085 USCF) |
| Champion | Daniel Joelson & Will Aepli |
| USCF Affiliate | Wyoming Chess Association |
| Active Players | 91 |
Chess in Wyoming refers to competitive chess played within the state of Wyoming. As of January 2025, Wyoming only has 91 active players registered with the United States Chess Federation, one of the lowest player counts in the United States. [1] The current USCF Wyoming state affiliate is the Wyoming Chess Association. [2] [3]
The first recorded Wyoming state chess championship took place in 1949. [4] It continued to be held annually except in 1960, and then in 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Originally part of a greater Wyoming Open tournament, the state championship eventually split off into being its own closed tournament. [5]
In the 20th century, ranchers would watch for trains to try initiating games against traveling chess players such as Samuel Reshevsky. [5] New Orleans chess player Jude Acers spent some time in Jackson, where he played against anyone willing to challenge him. Some chess tournaments were held in Jackson Hole over the past few decades, but they were one-time events. [6] Due to a lack of chess tournaments in the state, Wyoming residents often travel to play in chess competitions in neighboring states. Daniel Joelson won the state championship 21 times, first winning at the age of 17 in 1984. [4] [7] As of January 2023, Joelson wanted Cheyenne to have an active local chess club of its own.
Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov visited the state in November 2014. [8] He spoke with a math professor from the University of Wyoming, who touted the educational benefits of learning to play chess.
In May 2017, the PODER Academy Chess Team competed in that year's elementary school Super National tournament in Nashville. [9] The school placed 18th out of 75.
On May 7, 2022, Jackson Hole Classical Academy held its first scholastic chess tournament in five years. [10] This tournament would qualify four students to compete in the national tournament over the summer. The students who qualified would attend the school's week-long chess camp. Regarding this tournament, a virtual chess coach from Los Angeles for students from the school stated:
I went back in, in preparation for this, this chapter we're having and looked at the different tournaments that scholastic tournaments that had been held in Wyoming over the last 20 years and they were few and far between. Usually when they were held, they had more kids from Colorado than they did from Wyoming, and I couldn't find any of them that had over eight kids from Wyoming that were represented at one of the tournaments.
During summer 2022, the Riverton Chess Club was established. [11] The club began meeting on Wednesdays at the Central Wyoming College Library.
On February 11, 2023, Worland Middle School hosted the community's first chess tournament in years. [12]
In June 2025, Kamari Barth became the first Wyomingite to compete in the national invitation-only Susan Polgar tournament at Webster University in St. Louis. [13] Barth's trip was sponsored by the Sheridan Chess Association.
The Sheridan Chess Association promotes chess education at Sheridan schools. [14]
From April 30 to May 1 in 2022, the Sheridan Chess Association (founded in December 2021) began hosting an annual chess tournament in Sheridan, Wyoming at Sheridan College. [15] [16] [17]
In 2022, 76 players competed with a guaranteed prize pool of $3,875 and a top prize of $1,600. Some players in attendance included Alexander Fishbein, Justin Sarkar, and masters Sullivan McConnell, Joel Johnson, Richard Shtivelband, James Neal, and Brian Wall. [15] Sarkar won the Open section while Kevin Kuehnel and Karl Lehman tied for first place in the Under 1600 section. Prior to the start of the tournament, Fishbein conducted a simultaneous exhibition against 26 other players at the local YMCA, winning 25 and drawing 1. [18]
In 2023, the tournament expanded to include $7,575 in prizes. [19]
In 2024, the tournament featured three grandmasters, including GM Bryan Smith as a first-time competitor. [6]
In 2025, the Sheridan Chess Association rebranded the tournament as the Wyoming Community Foundation Open Chess Tournament. [20] 79 players competed across four sections. [6] Participants included "three chess grandmasters, three national masters, three life masters, and state champions from Wyoming, Montana and Colorado." [20] Luka Budisavljević was one of the grandmasters present. [21] Prior to the main tournament, Budisavljević conducted a simultaneous exhibition and won all 24 games. Sheridan High School student Daniel Hoopes held out the longest in a game that lasted over 30 moves. The 2025 iteration of the tournament contained a $9,000 guaranteed prize pool. Ultimately, the Open division ended in a four-way tie.
As of August 2025, the following people are the top rated active USCF players from Wyoming: [1]
| Position | Name | USCF Rating | USCF Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Joelson | 2085 | Candidate Master (norms-based) |
| 2 | William Alexander Aepli | 2076 | 1st Category |
| 3 | Casey Borcher | 1973 | 2nd Category |
| 4 | Peter Brizard | 1895 | |
| 5 | Guy Hadley | 1837 | 2nd Category |
| 6 | Rohan Jacob David | 1809 | 2nd Category |
| 7 | Bruce Johnson | 1700 | 2nd Category |
| 8 | Rodney Dean Weikum | 1696 | |
| 9 | Amber Lock | 1675 | 3rd Category |
| 10 | Robert A. Butler | 1578 | 3rd Category |
Other top Wyoming chess players who aren't currently active USCF members include NM Andre Peroit (2252 Rating), David A Wallace (2093 Rating), and four-time state champion Steve Smith (2085 Rating).
GM Alexander Fishbein used to be a Wyoming chess player, the only Grandmaster to come from the state as of January 2025. [17] Upon earning the FIDE title, Fishbein was congratulated by Senator Alan Simpson. His current state is now Tennessee. [22] He would visit the state again to compete in the Sheridan Wyoming Open tournament.
| № | Year | Winner(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1949 | Frank Dillon | |
| 2 | 1950 | S.D. Ferris | |
| 3 | 1951 | Chester Ingle | |
| 4 | 1952 | Chester Ingle (2) | |
| 5 | 1953 | Vic Stalick | |
| 6 | 1954 | Wilmer E. Stevens | |
| 7 | 1955 | Robert F. McGregor | |
| 8 | 1956 | Robert F. McGregor (2) | |
| 9 | 1957 | Chester Ingle (3) | |
| 10 | 1958 | Bob Wendling | |
| 11 | 1959 | Mohamed Omar | Omar was a student at the University of Wyoming from Afghanistan [4] |
| 12 | 1960 | None | No tournament was held this year [4] |
| 13 | 1961 | Rohland Pohle | |
| 14 | 1962 | W. E. Stevens | |
| 15 | 1963 | J. Bulinga | |
| 16 | 1964 | Bob Wendling (2) | |
| 17 | 1965 | Bob Wendling (3) | |
| 18 | 1966 | Bob Wendling (4) | |
| 19 | 1967 | Bob Burley | |
| 20 | 1968 | Bob Wendling (5) | |
| 21 | 1969 | Bob Wendling (6) | |
| 22 | 1970 | Bob Wendling (7) | |
| 23 | 1971 | Bob Wendling (8) | |
| 24 | 1972 | Bob Burley (2) | |
| 25 | 1973 | Bob Burley (3) | |
| 26 | 1974 | Steve Smith | |
| 27 | 1975 | Marc Lynn | |
| 28 | 1976 | Marc Lynn (2) | |
| 29 | 1977 | Steve Smith (2) | |
| 30 | 1978 | Daniel M. Finucane | |
| 31 | 1979 | Steve Smith (3) | |
| 32 | 1980 | Marc Lynn (3) | |
| 33 | 1981 | Steve Smith (4) | |
| 34 | 1982 | Alex Fishbein | |
| 35 | 1983 | Alex Fishbein (2) | |
| 36 | 1984 | Daniel E. Joelson | |
| 37 | 1985 | Alex Fishbein (3) | |
| 38 | 1986 | Roger L. Sample | |
| 39 | 1987 | Daniel E. Joelson (2) | |
| 40 | 1988 | Marc Lynn (4) | |
| 41 | 1989 | Ronald A. Matous | |
| 42 | 1990 | Ronald A. Matous (2) | |
| 43 | 1991 | Daniel E. Joelson (3) | |
| 44 | 1992 | Daniel E. Joelson (4) | |
| 45 | 1993 | Daniel E. Joelson (5) | |
| 46 | 1994 | Daniel E. Joelson (6) | |
| 47 | 1995 | Daniel E. Joelson (7) | |
| 48 | 1996 | Daniel E. Joelson (8) | |
| 49 | 1997 | Daniel E. Joelson (9) | |
| 50 | 1998 | Daniel E. Joelson (10) | |
| 51 | 1999 | Daniel E. Joelson (11) | |
| 52 | 2000 | Daniel E. Joelson (12) | |
| 53 | 2001 | Daniel E. Joelson (13) | |
| 54 | 2002 | Daniel E. Joelson (14) | |
| 55 | 2003 | Andrew M. Smith | |
| 56 | 2004 | Bruce Johnson | |
| 57 | 2005 | Daniel E. Joelson (15) | |
| 58 | 2006 | John L. Pedry | |
| 59 | 2007 | Daniel E. Joelson (16) | |
| 60 | 2008 | Bruce Johnson (2) | |
| 61 | 2009 | Dan W. Tanner | |
| 62 | 2010 | Guy Hadley | |
| 63 | 2011 | Guy Hadley (2) and James Kulbacki | Tie |
| 64 | 2012 | Timothy Schoessler | |
| 65 | 2013 | Daniel E. Joelson (17) | |
| 66 | 2014 | Stefan Heinz | |
| 67 | 2015 | Daniel E. Joelson (18), James Kulbacki (2), Timothy Schoessler (2), Guy Hadley (3), Stefan Heinz (2), Bruce Johnson (2), Richard Cohen, and Todd Crawford | Tie |
| 68 | 2016 | Andrew Smith (2) and Guy Hadley (4) | Tie |
| 69 | 2017 | Andrew Smith (3) | |
| 70 | 2018 | Will Aepli | |
| 71 | 2019 | Daniel E. Joelson (19) | Tie |
| 72 | 2020 | None | No tournament was held this year [4] |
| 73 | 2021 | Will Aepli (2) and Bradley FIck | Tie |
| 74 | 2022 | Daniel E. Joelson (20) and Timothy Schoessler (3) | Tie |
| 75 | 2023 | Will Aepli (3) | |
| 76 | 2024 | Daniel E. Joelson (21) and Will Aepli (4) | Tie |
