(from left to right) Julian Colville, Felix Guo, Esther Jou(Co-Captian), Alex Wang(Captian), Angela Liu(Co-Captian), Elena Zhang
The 2024 SuperStates, hosted by ICEA & Coach Jay in Valencia, CA from March 16-17, have concluded with over 600 participants from more than 100 school/club teams. The ICEA Chess Club proudly co-organized this monumental event, with ICEA Chess honored to serve as the host under the guidance of Coach Jay, ensuring the smooth execution of the tournament.
Beyond its role as host, the ICEA Chess Team also distinguished itself by clinching three team awards across in Championship Sections and two team awards in JV Sections.
| Section | Team Award | Team Members |
| Championship K-12 | Champion | Alex Wang (Captain) Esther Jou (Co-Captain) Angela Liu (Co-Captain) Sihan Tao Elena Zhang Ethan Hsiao Tori Porat Vanessa Zhou |
| Championship K-8 | Champion | Julian Colville (Lead) Felix Guo (Co-Lead) Forest Sherwood William Wang Jerry Chang Sabarish Kailasam |
| Championship K-5 | 3rd Place | Sean Jura (Lead) Jeffrey Wei Zidaan Hussain |
| JV K-8 U1400 | 5th Place | Austin Huang (Lead) Benjamin Samuel Elliott Rimbert Bryce Mcintyre Gavin Willi Novak Isabella Yu Kaitlyn Otey |
| JV K-6 U1000 | 4th Place | Arjun Kumar (Lead) Aarin Sahota |
In the K-12 Section, ICEA Coaches Angela, Alex, Elena, and Esther, alongside team members Sihan Tao, Tori Porat, Vanessa Zhou and Ethan Hsiao, propelled the team to victory as the K-12 Team Champion. Similarly, in the K-8 Section, ICEA Members Julian Colville, Forest Sherwood, Felix Guo (myself), Jerry Chang, Sabarish Kailasam, and William Wang secured first place. Despite having only three members, Jeffery Wei, Sean Jura, and Zidaan Hussain, ICEA managed to secure third place in the K-5 Section.
ICEA Team Captain Alex Wang become the alternate in the K-12 Section due to his impressive second-place finish, while ICEA Team Co-Captain Angela Liu claimed the title of Haring Representative for Southern California with a commendable third-place finish overall.
In individual standings, Julian Colville and Forest Sherwood secured third and fourth place respectively in the K-8 Section with 4.5 points each, while Jeffery Wei attained fifth place in the entirety of the K-5 Section.
In the JV Sections, Isabella Yu scored 6.5/10 in the K-8 U1400 Section. Not far behind her, Austin Huang scored an amazing 6/10. Overall, ICEA Chess secured the 5th Team Award.
Arjun Kumar came in 8th place in the K-6 U1000 Section, showing impressive resilience after losing his opening two matches. He bounced back and won all his remaining games! Arjun also teamed up with Aarin Sahota to clinch a 4th place finish in the Team Award for their section.
In the K-6 U700 Section, Jun Choi scored an incredible 8/10 and got 2nd place overall!
Everyone performed exceptionally well. I look forward to seeing everyone again next year for the 2025 SuperStates. I’m proud of the team and our accomplishments.
Additionally, I aim to share a game of mine that illustrates the consequences of excessive greed and neglecting piece development.
Now, I challenge you all to find what I played next as white.
I hope you all found the amazing tactic to win the game. It is a simple remove the defender tactic.
11. Qxh5+!! Rxh5 12. Bg6#
(highlight above black bar to see the answer)
– reported by Felix