17 players competed in the 2026 WV Italian Heritage Festival chess tournament, held on August 29, 2026 at the Harrison County Senior Center in Clarksburg. John Roush and Ben Good shared 1st-2nd with 3.5/4. Hans Wikle took 1st U1500 with 2.5/4 and 2nd was split between Mathew Johnson, Evan Pugh, and Maddox Andriotto who had 2.0/4.
Category Archives: Results
Suncrest Spring Fling
31 players competed in the rated sections of the Suncrest Spring Fling event, held on May 23, 2026 at Suncrest Middle School in Morgantown.
Results:
6-12 – Cole Harris 4.0, five players tied for second at 3.0; Team – East Fairmont HS
K-5 – Manvith Maheshkumar 3.5, Henry Esguerra 3.0; Team – Taylor County MS
Open – Benjamin Good 2.5, Jimmy Fuller 2.0
2026 WV Action Championship
24 players competed in the WV Action Championship May 9, 2026 in Huntington. Gallagher Kelsch won the 2026 WV Action Championship with a perfect 6-0 score. Ryan Miller of Kentucky was second at 5-1.
WV Scholastic Championship Results
69 players competed in the WV Scholastic Championship held in Clarksburg on March 21.
Individual Winners:
K-12: Nathaniel Des Ruisseau 5/5
K-8: Gallagher Kelsch 4/4
K-5: Aadhavan Thangasamy 4/4
K-3: Julian Schmidt, Nikil Mathew (VA) 4.5/5
Team Winners:
K-12: Berkeley Springs High School
K-8: John Adams Middle School
K-5: Weberwood Elementary School
K-3: MMS Knights
25th Mountaineer Open
The 25th Mountaineer Open was held on January 17, 2026 in Morgantown. 52 players competed in the rated sections. Lewis Sanders won the open with 4/4 and Cole Harris won the Collegiate/Scholastic with 4/4.
Jingle Bell Open and Scholastic
The Jingle Bell Open and Scholastic was held on December 6 in Bridgeport. The Open Section was won by Gallagher Kelsch with 3.5/4. The Middle/High School was won by Cole Harris with 4/4. The Elementary was won by Zekun Chen with 4/4.
11th WV Senior Championship
14 players competed in the 11th Annual WV Senior Championship, held in Bridgeport. Anatoly Boshkin and Marco Wotschka (OH) tied for first with 4.5/5 points. However, due to a lapse in WVCA membership, the Senior Champion title again goes to James Fuller, who finished with 3.5/5. Jimmy will be offered a spot in the Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions in 2026.
Thomas Bergquist Memorial
14 players competed in the Thomas Bergquist Memorial 86th WV State Championship, held on September 13-14, 2025 in Huntington. No one escaped unscathed among the small field, and when the dust settled, Lewis Sanders won his third State Championship title.
As the tournament was nearing a close, Gallagher Kelsch and Markle Butcher had already finished their games and had 3.5 points. Lewis was playing Harrison Stone on board one, each having 3 points. A win would mean clear first, and a draw would mean a four-way tie for first. Lewis with the white pieces had been down a pawn most of the game. The players traded down into an opposite color bishop endgame, which are notorious for being drawn and this one was no exception. However, as the time pressure ensued, Harrison slipped and allowed Lewis to push his pawn with discovered check and promote to a queen. Lewis won and became our champion with 4 points out of 5.
Gallagher Kelsch won the Junior Champion title with his second place score of 3.5.
Ed Garner, Vishwadhipa Voore, and Harrison Stone shared the U1900 and U1600 prizes with 3 points.
Vishwadhipa Voore, who started with 3 straight wins, took the upset trophy with his win over Lewis Sanders in round 3.
David Comer and Tina Statts shared the U1300 prize with 2 points each.
WV Italian Heritage Festival Open and Scholastic
31 players competed in the WV Italian Heritage Festival Open and Scholastic event, held on August 23 at the Harrison County Senior Center in Clarksburg. Gallagher Kelsch showed no signs of slowing down his rating climb, reaching 1900+ after going 4-0 in the Open. Andrew Tichenor of Virginia took second with a perfect 3-0 before a 1/2 point bye in round 4.
The scholastic section was won by Aaron Ross with 4-0. Cheat Lake Elementary took the team trophy. Dominic Ashton and Ethan Rakes took home second place trophies, and Sarah Good won a trophy for the highest finishing girl.
Mike Price Memorial
12 players competed in the Mike Price Memorial on July 19 at the Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg. A few others visited during the event, including Reggie Best and Pat Kelly. Mike’s parents and sister were present for the event as well. A large collection of books and some chess sets were donated and we will be offering those that remain at future events.
Benjamin Good and Gallagher Kelsch tied for first with 3.5/4 after their last round draw, the only draw of the event. Ed Garner and Lance Pitrolo finished with 3.0/4.
Special thanks to Cindy and Paige from the Blennerhassett, Mike’s family, and all those who came to celebrate Mike.
