KML Players at the 2023 Wisconsin Junior Open

The Wisconsin Junior Open is an opportunity for players to experience competitive chess and learn what they need to work on to improve their games. Eight KML players competed this year. Learning was the most important result, although one KML player had a personal best and finished higher in the Open section standings than any KML player has in our history of attending this event. 

Here are all the results:

Reserve section for those who are unrated or under 900 US Chess rating:

• There were 66 players in this field and five rounds of play.
• Three of our players were brand new to competition and gained valuable experience (Natalie, Dylan, Luke)
• Nathanael Himsel had two wins and three draws and finished 14th overall.
• Dylan Hanson had two wins and a draw, which is fantastic for a newcomer to competition.
• Todd Tischer achieved two wins.

Open section, which features the best high school chess players in WI:

• There were 45 players in this field and five rounds of play.
• Matt Hilzley had two wins.
• Carson Reik had three wins and finished 11th overall.
• Sawyer Yogerst won four of his five games, finishing 7th overall. This is the highest finish ever for a KML player in the Open section at the Junior Open. His rating jumped from 611 to 983. He won the award for best of the Class E rated players, meaning he was the lowest rated player going in who finished the highest overall.

For more information on US Chess ratings or to look up a player's rating, go to https://new.uschess.org/player-search.

Carson Reik: Finished 2nd best of all the players in the Open section in the "D" class
Sawyer Yogerst: Highest finishing Class E player in the Open section
Nathanael Himsel: Finished 2nd best of all the players in the Under 600 rating class in the Reserve section

For more photos, go here.