CLUB NEWS

MCK CHESS CLUB

The highest level over-the-board chess competition at McKinnon Secondary College began on Friday 17 July with the opening round. 

Thirty two qualified players will compete in after-school matches in B04 (McKinnon Rd Campus) during Term 3 in order to become the next McK Chess Champion. 

To follow the event, see the official 2026 McK Chess Championship website, or come to B04 and see the live actions.

INTERSCHOOL CHESS ZONAL (TERM 2) 

Left to right: Vihaan, Hao Nan, Kazu, Aarav, Jonathan, Lucas, Shraavan, Konstantinos, Igor

In the last week of Term 2 (June 25th), the McKinnon chess team consisting of Shraavan Balaji (Year 11), Konstantinos Dimitrakopoulos (Year 10), Jonathan Huang (Year 11), Lucas Huang (Year 11), Vihaan Bhalla (Year 8), Kazu Nakada (Year 7), Aarav Shah (Year 11), Hao Nan Zhang (Year 8), and Igor Shatalin (Year 10), travelled to Balwyn High School to compete in the Chess Victoria Interschool Chess Zonal tournament. The competition has attracted some of the best chess schools in the state and there were over 150 players in the event. 

It was a long and gruelling day with more than 3.5 hours of non-stop focus and concentration. Despite that, McKinnon’s team played professionally and came 12th overall. Good work team!

MCK CHESS RATING/TITLE (JULY 2026 UPDATE)

Congratulations to Vihaan Bhalla (Year 8) and Igor Shatalin (Year 10) who have been awarded the Rook Class Player title (& badge) and Pawn class title respectively by the McK Chess Club after their recent performance at interschool competitions.

All students who have played in any tournament organized by the McK Chess Club in the past will be in the McK Chess Rating database. Rating is used for competition seeding, school team’s selection, as well as determining player’s titles. 

The updated rating list for 2026 can be accessed via this link.

The current top 10 McK Rated Chess Players at McKinnon:

1. Aaron Todes               Y12      1579    [KG]

2. Stanley Luo                 Y12      1559    [KG]

3. Anh Quan (Alex) Do  Y12     1407    [KG]

4. Sivanesh Veerappan  Y9        1337    [RK]

5. Yotam Hazan              Y12      1301    -

6. Shraavan Balaji          Y11      1283    [RK]

7. Arnav Chitnis              Y10     1275    [RK]

8. Vihaan Bhalla              Y8       1266    [RK]

9. Jonathan Huang         Y11     1250    [RK]

10. Vibhan Jivanjee          Y12     1248    [RK]

McK Player’s Titles are in [...].

Sandy Law

McK Chess Club