Hawaii Open 2025 - Tournament Recap

Sep 3

This past Labor Day weekend (August 30th to September 1st), the Hawaii Chess Federation hosted the 2025 Hawaii Open State Chess Championship at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The tournament boasted record-breaking attendance, with 97 participants in the main event and another 52 in the Blitz State Championship.

After a grueling three days of competition, two players tied for first place in the Open section, earning them the titles of Co-State Champions: National Master Paul Iinuma and Gabriel White, both scoring 4.0 out of 5.0. In the Reserve Under 1500 section, Aurelia White dominated the competition with a perfect score of 5.0, earning her the titles of Under 1500 State Champion and Women’s State Champion for the third year in a row. Kyle Nonnenmocher won the Under 800 section in convincing fashion, also with a perfect score of 5.0, earning him the title of Under 800 State Champion.

On the final day of competition, 52 players gathered for the Blitz State Championship, consisting of six double Swiss System rounds, or 12 total games, played at a time control of G/5+2 (5 minutes per player with a 2-second increment after each move). Competitors ranged from unrated players competing in their first tournament to experienced veterans to former state champions. After 12 thrilling games of blitz chess, National Master Paul Iinuma claimed first place with an incredible score of 10.5 out of 12.0, earning him the title of State Blitz Chess Champion. Congratulations to our new State Champions, and well-played to all of our participants!

Click here for the official USCF tournament results

We also announced the kick-off of our 2025-26 scholastic chess year, with our first scholastic tournament scheduled for Saturday, September 27th, at Washington Middle School. Please check out our events calendar for more details on upcoming tournaments. We look forward to another exciting year of chess in Hawaii and we hope to see you at the boards!