Category: Club Meetings
ROCHESTER CHESS: MARCH 9-15 AND SCHOLASTIC CHESS NEWS
Monday, March 9: Free Chess at LTS Brewery (2nd Tuesday of the month). Games start at 6 PM. https://www.ltsbrewing.com/
Tuesday, March 10: Casual chess and kids’ chess at the club. Doors open at 6 pm.
Game analysis: Bring a favorite game to share with the group.
Thursday, March 12: Free casual chess at Novios Cafe, 1 – 3 pm. https://www.novioscafe.com/
Scholastic Chess News: The 61st Annual Scholastic Chess Championship was held on March 7-8, 2026
at the University of St. Thomas. A record-setting 383 students competed in 4 sections for the state championships. Special thanks go to the tournament organizer MSCA’s Tim Rademacher and to the tournament director Sarah Wahl for running an amazing event. More details of the scholastic championship are posted on the MSCA website: https://www.minnesotachess.com/.
Slight Stumble Causes Drop for Century HS Chess
By Chuck Handlon, Secretary – Treasurer Rochester Area Scholastic Chess League.
In 2025 the Century HS chess team attained 19.5 points in the Minnesota State Chess Association K–12
Championship Tournament. This result was good for a three-way tie for first place with Eastview HS and Eden Prairie HS. A slight stumble by Century in the final two rounds of the 2026 State Scholastic Chess Tournament cost Century a half point and Century’s 19 points dropped it into a third-place tie with Eastview. The top four teams were separated by only 1 point. Eden Prairie finished second with 19.5 and Wayzata HS was the champion with 20 points. Mayo HS finished 8th with 15.5 points and Rochester Homeschool finished 22nd with 5.5 points.
Several Rochester players won individual honors. Century Sophomore Johan Myburgh placed overall
15th in high school division of over 150 players. Century Sophomore Eric Zheng placed 4th in the under
1000 USCF rated division. Two Rochester Freshmen placed in the under 1500 USCF rated division.
Mayo’s Omar Aly was 3rd and Isaac Gommers who attends Schaeffer Academy was 4th.
For more information contact RASCL Secretary Chuck Handlon chuckwheelerhandlon@gmail.com
ROCHESTER CHESS: MARCH 2-8
Tuesday, March 3: Casual chess and kids’ chess at the club. Doors open at 6 pm.
Game analysis: Bring a favorite game to share with the group.
Thursday, March 5: Free casual chess at Novios Cafe, 1 – 3 pm. https://www.novioscafe.com/
Saturday, Sunday, March 7, 8: 61st Annual State Scholastic Chess Championship will be held on the University of St. Thomas campus in St. Paul. 30+ students, coaches, and parents from Rochester will be there. https://www.minnesotachess.com/state-scholastic
ROCHESTER CHESS FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1 + RASCL CITY CUP AND SWISS.
Monday, February 23: Chess tournament on the 4th Monday of the month at Zen Fusion, starts at 6 pm. https://zenfusionmn.com/
Tuesday, February 24: Casual chess and kids’ chess at the club. Doors open at 6 pm.
Game analysis: Bring a favorite game to share with the group.
Slow quads makeup round (G/60+30 s increment). Game starts at 6:45 pm.
Thursday, February 26: Free casual chess at Novios Cafe, 1 – 3 pm. https://www.novioscafe.com/
Saturday, February 28: Contributed by Chuck Handlon. The 26th annual RASCL City Cup Tournament and a concurrent RASCL Swiss Invitational will be held in the Century HS North cafeteria. The varsity semi-final round will begin at 9:00 am. Players should arrive around 8:30 to help set up.
In the semi-final round, Century Silver will be white on boards 1, 3 & 5 vs Century Navy. Mayo HS will be white on boards 1, 3 & 5 vs the Homeschool team. In the case of a tied match, the higher seed advances. Winners of the semi-final will play for the City Cup in the Championship round and the losers will play a consolation game for bronze, i.e. third place.
At the end of the first round (10:30 – 10:45) there will be a break for BB’s pizza. We are grateful that BB’s Pizza is the official sponsor for the pizza of the City Cup. Family Dentist Tree is the official sponsor for the RASCL trophies.
Teams that are not in the varsity City Cup should encourage players to participate in the Swiss Invitational. There will be trophies for the Top Five finishers as well as a team trophy. Pre-registration is encouraged: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwIPXOi6G4N7FdClPrPpnot1RYcUqwHHLrwnzDMbGx9rWa0A/viewform?usp=header
An awards ceremony will follow the City Cup championship round. The regular season champion trophy will be awarded in addition to the RASCL Varsity Top Five. There will be a RASCL “All League Team” named.