ICEA Chess Blog

ICEA Chess Returns to the Wende Museum with a Successful Free Tournament

ICEA Chess Returns to the Wende Museum with a Successful Free Tournament

On Saturday (6/21/2025), ICEA Chess proudly hosted a free, all-ages chess tournament at the Wende Museum, marking our much-anticipated return…
2025 SuperStates Championship: A Record-Breaking Celebration of Chess Excellence

2025 SuperStates Championship: A Record-Breaking Celebration of Chess Excellence

The 2025 Southern California SuperStates Championship was held by ICEA Chess for the first time at the historic Biltmore Hotel…
ICEA Chess @ Gardena: Gardena’s Youth Shine at ICEA Chess Tournament

ICEA Chess @ Gardena: Gardena’s Youth Shine at ICEA Chess Tournament

On Saturday, April 26, 2025, the Nakaoka Community Center in Gardena transformed into a hub of strategic excitement as young…
Lessons from the World School Chess Championship in Peru: My Journey to Growth

Lessons from the World School Chess Championship in Peru: My Journey to Growth

Author’s Note:This article was written after I achieved the title of National Master (see my other article, Journey to National…
Journey to National Master: A Dream Comes True at the Dreaming King Open

Journey to National Master: A Dream Comes True at the Dreaming King Open

The elusive National Master (NM) title had been my dream since I first picked up a chessboard. I started playing…
A New Exciting Historical Chapter: 2025 SuperStates

A New Exciting Historical Chapter: 2025 SuperStates

We are thrilled to officially announce that ICEA has been designated as the host of the 2025 Southern California SuperStates…
Road to NM (an extraordinary National Open)

Road to NM (an extraordinary National Open)

Last year, I co-won the National Open U2100 in June with a score of 6.5/7, increasing my rating from 2063…
ICEA Chess in SuperStates 2024

ICEA Chess in SuperStates 2024

(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…
2024 SoCal SuperStates Scholastic State Chess Championship

2024 SoCal SuperStates Scholastic State Chess Championship

ICEA Chess is proud to partner with Coach Jay to organize the 2024 SoCal SuperStates Scholastic State Chess Championship. March…
2023 North American Youth Championship

2023 North American Youth Championship

Angela Liu, Julian Colville, and Felix Guo from ICEA Chess proudly represented Team USA in this year's tournament. Congratulations to…
Openings: One-Trick and Bad Gambits

Openings: One-Trick and Bad Gambits

Gambits. Gambits aren’t horrible types of openings to play, but problems can occur if you aren’t careful. Gambits such as…
My First Tournament Directing Experience

My First Tournament Directing Experience

Ever since I started playing chess, I would watch the tournament directors amble past each board as they attentively watched…
ICEA Qualifiers & Results of Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival

ICEA Qualifiers & Results of Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival

On September 15 and September 16, two qualifier tournaments were held to determine who would earn a coveted spot at…
Unexpectedly Rising Above Mediocrity in the 2023 Pacific Southwest Open

Unexpectedly Rising Above Mediocrity in the 2023 Pacific Southwest Open

In the months leading up to the Pacific Southwest Open, I experienced a string of unsatisfactory results, my play having…
Surviving the Trials and Tribulations of One Remarkable US Open

Surviving the Trials and Tribulations of One Remarkable US Open

The Beginning In March 2023, I played in Southern California’s Superstates tournament, an annual scholastic tournament held to decide California’s…