Six Naperville area teams head to the IHSA state chess meet

All six Naperville area schools have qualified for the upcoming 2026 IHSA state chess meet, with two winning sectional championships.

Waubonsie Valley earns the top overall seed after winning Kaneland sectional

For the second consecutive season, Waubonsie Valley enters the state tournament as the number one overall seed after winning the Kaneland sectional championship. The Warriors were led by sophomores Anjaneya Rao and Anshul Shetty, who both earned four wins in the sectional round. Arnav Karthikeyan, Ria Raj, and Nirvan Korampally all had three wins and one draw.

Metea Valley finished in fourth place at the Kaneland sectional and is the number 23 seed in the state tournament. Atharv Patel, Anshu Yadav, and Nila Hari all had four wins for the Mustangs, while Shubham Chaudhari had three wins and a draw in the sectional.

Neuqua Valley wins the Glenbard West sectional

Neuqua Valley won the Glenbard West sectional championship, earning the number five seed in the state tournament. Adarsh Girish picked up four victories for the Wildcats while Rishi Murali and Carter Hanninen had three wins and a draw.

Naperville North finished in second place at the Glenbard West sectional and enters the state tournament as the number eight seed. Matthew Simpson and Benjamin Reif earned four wins for the Huskies.

Naperville Central finished in eighth in the Glenbard West sectional and is seeded at number 50 in the state tournament. Joshua Ang helped the Redhawks with three wins and a draw in the sectional.

Benet Academy took 12th place in the Glenbard West sectional and comes into the state tournament as the number 29 seed. Benjamin McKendall had a pair of wins and a draw for the Redwings.

Stevenson, Whitney Young, and Chicago Payton are the other three schools seeded in the top five. The 2026 IHSA state chess tournament will be held February 13-14.