Chess in Nebraska refers to competitive chess played within the state of Nebraska. As of January 2025[update], Nebraska has 245 active players registered with the United States Chess Federation.[1] The current USCF Nebraska state affiliate is the Nebraska State Chess Association.[2][3]
Throughout the 1960s and 70's, Nebraska was a hotspot for chess tournaments in the United States.[5][6] The top chess players from across the nation would travel to the state to compete, including eventual world champion Bobby Fischer. In 1969 and 1975, the U.S. Open Chess Championship was hosted in Lincoln. Some Nebraskans who began playing around this time would go on to compete globally.
In 1996, the Nebraska Chess Hall of Fame was established.[5] In order for someone to be inducted, they needed to have lived in the state at some point. As of May 2024, 19 people have been inducted into it.
In November 2021, the chess club at Plains Baptist Church in Lincoln conducted a simultaneous exhibition featuring JJ Lang.[8] Lang played 16 games at once.
In 2022, the Kearney Chess Club was established.[9] According to one of the club's co-founders, the club caught the attention of a wide age range of players: “We’ve got children as young as 10 that are coming up and playing, we’ve got people in their 50’s that are playing and just all sorts of life experiences.”
In July 2024, the Hastings Tribune published a news story about 14-year-old chess player Thomas Jessop.[10] The article details Jessop's feats such as his victory in the 6-8 division at the Nebraska State Qualifier that May. He was set to compete at the national tournament in Virginia later that month.
Competitors
As of January 2025, the following people are the top rated active USCF players from Nebraska:[1]
Position
Name
USCF Rating
USCF Titles
1
Nathan Solon
2450
National Master, Life Master (norms-based)
2
Rodney A Malpert
2326
Original Life Master, National Master, Life Master (norms-based)
3
Michael P Blankenau
2250
National Master, Candidate Master (norms-based)
4
Rich Chess
2225
National Master
5
Jonathan J Lang
2114
Candidate Master (norms-based)
6
Jacob Kenneth Wagner
2053
1st Category
7
Nicholas Paul Lacroix
2048
1st Category
8
Abhinav Suresh
1989
1st Category
9
Luke O Hengen
1988
1st Category
10
Kirill Belashchenko
1971
1st Category
Other top Nebraska chess players who aren't currently active USCF members include NM Ilan Vardi (2341 Rating), NM Paul D Rohwer (2313 Rating), and Kaveh Alagheband (2211 Rating).
List of state champions (1899 - 2023)
The Nebraska State Chess Association has kept a record of every Nebraska state champion from 1899 onward.[2] In the association's records, the first name of every state champion is abbreviated to a single initial until 2020.
