Chess in Idaho refers to competitive chess played within the state of Idaho. As of August 2025, Idaho has 258 active players registered with the United States Chess Federation. The current USCF Idaho state affiliate is the Idaho Chess Association.
History In 2009, at age 10, Luke Vellotti from Boise became the highest-rated chess player in Idaho. By 2013, Vellotti became the top-ranked chess player under 15 in the United States. He began attending the University of California, Los Angeles at age 14.
Around 2016, a teenage Nathan Barry designed a logo for the Idaho Chess Association.
In May 2017, grandmaster Timur Gareyev travelled around Idaho to promote chess education. The trip was sponsored by the Blaine County School District (BCSD) Chess Club. GM Timur began the trip by playing blindfold chess with 18 players at Memorial Park in Boise. The next day, GM Timur travelled to Silver Creek High School, where he participated in a Socratic discussion and attended a chess lesson taught in sign language. One week prior to his trip, he trained the BSCD Chess Club Middle School chess team at that year's Supernationals in Knoxville, TN.
Throughout 2021, David Rush sought to break a world record every week. Rush ultimately broke 43 records, two being "Fastest time to arrange a chess set" and "Fastest time to arrange a chess set (team of two)".
In May 2025, 13-year-old Griffin Baldwin from Eagle captured local attention when he defeated local news anchor Scott McLinden in a friendly match before heading off to the Chess SuperNationals in Orlando, Florida.
Competitions The Idaho Chess Association invites top players from the state's scholastic chess championship to the Idaho Tournament of Champions and to major national competitions.
Competitors As of August 2025, the following people are the top rated active USCF players from Idaho: PositionNameUSCF RatingUSCF Titles1Christofer Peterson2243National Master, Candidate Master (norms-based)2Jeff S Gamble2140National Master, 3rd Category3James Wei21201st Category4Josh Price20351st Category5Larry R Parsons2000National Master, 1st Category6Michael Edward Cambareri19681st Category7Caleb Kircher19661st Category8Linus Quinn Wannamaker19562nd Category9Zygmond Mayer19201st Category10Finn Belew18921st Category Other top Idaho chess players who aren't currently active USCF members include Singer Coats (2401 Rating), FM James J Maki (2323 Rating), and NM Michael D Gold (2310 Rating).
List of state champions №YearWinner(s)Notes11947Charles H. Stewart21948Mel Schubert31949Charles H. Stewart (2)41950LaVerl Kimpton51951LaVerl Kimpton (2) & Glen BuckendorfTie61952LaVerl Kimpton (3)71953LaVerl Kimpton (4)81954Glen Buckendorf (2)91955Dick Vandenburg101956Glen Buckendorf (3)111957Glen Buckendorf (4)121958Dick Vandenburg (2)131959Glen Buckendorf (5)141960Glen Buckendorf (6)151961George Krauss Jr.161962George Krauss Jr. (2)171963Dick Vandenburg (3)181964Dick Vandenburg (4)191965Dick Vandenburg (5)201966Bert Germalm211967Glen Buckendorf (7)221968Glen Buckendorf (8)231969Wolfgang Freese241970Rex Wilcox251971David Reynods261972Glen Buckendorf (9)271973Harold Moye281974Kenneth Sanderson291975Gregory T. Perryman301976William Whitacre311977Dick Vandenburg (6) & Larry R. ParsonsTie321978William Whitacre (2)331979Larry R. Parsons (2)341980Richard Burchett351981Yge Visser & Richard Burchett (2)Tie361982Paul Johnson & Larry R. Parsons (3)Tie371983Larry R. Parsons (4)381984Larry R. Parsons (5)391985Paul Johnson (2)401986Leslie R. Colin411987Larry R. Parsons (6)421988Stewart Q. Sutton & Steven AllieTie431989Larry R. Parsons (7)441990Joseph Kennedy451991Joseph Kennedy (2)461992Joseph Kennedy (3)471993Michael A. Henderson481994Larry R. Parsons (8) & Daniel D. DrummTie491995John B. Carr & Jim A. McClureTie501996Larry R. Parsons (9)511997Leroy Hill & Larry R. Parsons (10) & Stewart Q. Sutton (2)Tie521998Larry R. Parsons (11)531999Larry R. Parsons (12)542000Larry R. Parsons (13)552001Larry R. Parsons (14) & Stewart Q. Sutton (3) & Glen Buckendorf (10)Tie562002Michael D. Gold & Larry R. Parsons (15)Tie572003Michael D. Gold (2)582004Stewart Q. Sutton (4) & Dylan T. Smith & David J. EackerTie592005Karl T. Disher602006Garrett Reynolds & Daniel A. TaylorTie612007Hans M. Morrow622008Doitchin Krastev *632009Garrett Reynolds (2)642010Phil Weyland & Larry R. Parsons (16) & Doitchin Krastev (2) *Tie652011Caleb P. Abernathy662012Larry R. Parsons (17) & Blake FurlowTie672013Larry R. Parsons (18)682014Caleb Paul Kircher692015David Lucky702016David Lucky (2)712017David Lucky (3)722018Alex Machin732019Jacob Nathan & Kevin XuTie742020Jacob Nathan (2)752021Larry R. Parsons (19)762022Kaustubh Kodihalli772023James Wei, Kaustubh Kodihalli (2), & Josh PriceTie782024James Wei (2)792025James Wei (3), Josh Price (2), Cody GormanTie
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