An ISU student is the new chess champion of Iowa.

Two students qualified for the top seats in the championships. Pete Karagianis, sophomore in English, was one of them.

He went home Sunday night the champion after one draw and four wins.

The other student was Mike Parsons, sophomore in liberal arts and sciences.

Chess players from across Iowa have competed in chess tournaments all year to qualify for the top six spots and compete in the Iowa State Closed Chess Championships.

The chess championship is the oldest chess tournament in Iowa.

For the past three years the tournament has been held in Iowa City, but the ISU Chess Club and the Iowa Chess Association sponsored the tournament to be held at Iowa State, said Mark Capron, tournament sanctioned coordinator.

The tournament also had an open chess tournament for individuals to participate in.

The chess players competed against individuals who were comparable in their level of expertise, Capron said.

Twelve-year-old Dan Branshaw of Marion competed in the open tournament against adults because he has a high level of expertise in chess.

“This chess tournament is a good opportunity for him,” said Jeanette Branshaw, Dan’s mother.

She jokingly added, “He’s a smart, geeky kid with a high I.Q., and this tournament is a great opportunity for him to do something that is in his realm.”

Branshaw said he started playing chess because he finished his math work in school so quickly and the math teacher did not know what to do with him for the remainder of the class.

His math teacher would sit down and play chess with him while the other students finished their homework.

Branshaw wasn’t the only underage participant at the chess tournament. The youngest player was 6 years old.

Alayna Whitehead, of Iowa City, started playing chess when she was 4 years old because her older brother knew how to play.

The tournament was the second chess tournament she has participated in. Whitehead said she hopes to continue to improve her chess game in future tournaments.