Hall of Champions
Learn about previous state champions from a collection of personal biographies.
All Champions by Year
1926: Dr. William H. Morton
1927: James Henry Rice, Jr.
1928: Col. Oliver J. Bond
1929: B.O. Johnson
1930: E.B. Hallman
1931: Edward L. Dashiell
1932: P.J. Walker
1933: Edward L. Dashiell
1948: Harold A. Mouzon, Jr.
1949: Paul L. Cromelin
1950: Harold A. Mouzon, Jr.
1951: Paul L. Cromelin
1952: Alex Edelsburg
1953: Rea B. Hayes
1954: Rea B. Hayes
1955: Ernest E. Hoenck
1956: Lanneau L. Foster, Alex Edelsburg
1957: R. Grady Brown
1958: R. Grady Brown
1959: Harold A. Mouzon, Jr.
1960: Peter Grant, Lanneau Foster, Alex Edelsburg
1961: John G. Wallenburg
1962: Lanneau L. Foster
1963: Dr. Steven Shaw
1964: Dr. Lee Hyder
1965: John A. Chalmers, Alex Edelsburg
1966: Dr. Lee Hyder
1967: Dr. Lee Hyder, Alex Edelsburg
1968: Dr. Lee Hyder
1969: Dr. Spencer R. Mathews, Jr.
1970: Charles Walter
1971: Dr. Otto Estenger
1972: Dr. Otto Estenger, Charles Walter
1973: Jeff Smeltzer, Charles Walter
1974: Charles Walter
1975: Jeff Smeltzer, Dr. Lee Hyder, James Addison
1976: Fred Scott Allsbrook
1977: Paul Tinkler
1978: Dr. Lee Hyder
1979: Edward McCauley, Richard Cohen, Patrick Hart
1980: Klaus Pohl
1981: Jeff Smeltzer
1982: Klaus Pohl
1983: Klaus Pohl, David Erb, Joseph Zeimetz
1984: Wayne Williams
1985: Thomas Krause, Klaus Pohl, Wayne Williams
1986: Klaus Pohl
1987: Dennis Fish, Randal Ferguson, Wayne Williams
1988: Klaus Pohl
1989: Wayne Williams, Dr. Lee Hyder, Doug Holmes
1990: Charles Walter, Dennis Fish, Mark Brodie, James Hill
1991: Klaus Pohl
1992: Klaus Pohl, Lindsay Blanks
1993: Philip Laren, Klaus Pohl
1994: Lindsay Blanks
1995: Patrick Hart, Wayne Williams
1996: Randal Ferguson
1997: Randal Ferguson
1998: Dr. Miles F. Ardaman
1999: Dr. Miles F. Ardaman
2000: Klaus Pohl
2001: Dr. Miles F. Ardaman
2002: Alex Guetchkov, James Burden
2003: Randal Ferguson
2004: Keith Eubanks, John Curcuru
2005: Klaus Pohl
2006: Timur Aliyev, Klaus Pohl, Wayne Christensen
2007: Timur Aliyev
2008: Dr. Philipp Lamby
2009: Timur Aliyev
2010: Dr. Philipp Lamby
2011: Dr. Alexander Matros
2012: Dr. Edsel Pena, Benjamin Caiello, Gene Nix
2013: Dr. Alexander Matros
2014: Wayne Christensen
2015: Klaus Pohl
2016: Benjamin Caiello
2017: NM Sam Copeland
2018: NM Mike Sailer
2019: NM Mike Sailer
2020: Dr. Alexander Matros
2021: Dr. Alexander Matros
2022: NM Mike Sailer, WFM Uthra Pakkiriswamy, Roger D. Johnson
2023: NM Sam Copeland, NM Mike Sailer, NM Benjamin Caiello
2024: Dr. Alexander Matros, FM Kelvin Sanchez
2025: Dr. Alexander Matros (Full Results)
An Ongoing Project
The history of all the South Carolina State Champions is an ongoing project of the Columbia Chess Club. If you have a picture or bio you would like to submit, please email info@columbiachess.org for addition to these archives.
UNIQUE LIST OF CHAMPIONS, CHRONOLOGICAL BY FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP:
- William H. Morton, 1926
- James Henry Rice Jr., 1927
- Oliver James Bond, 1928
- Benjamin Oswald Johnson, 1929
- Elmer Berley Hallman, 1930
- Edward Lawrence Dashiell, 1931, 1933
- Peter James Walker, 1932
- Paul Lothian Cromelin, 1949, 1951
- Aleksander "Alex" Edelsburg, 1952, 1956 (co), 1960 (co), 1965 (co), 1967 (co)
- Rea Bruce Hayes, 1953, 1954
- Ernest Edward Hoenck, 1955
- Lanneau L. Foster, 1956 (co), 1960 (co), 1962
- R. Grady Brown, 1957, 1958
- Peter Grant, 1960 (co)
- John G. Wallenburg, 1961
- Steven Shaw, 1963
- Lee Hyder, 1964, 1966, 1967 (co), 1968 (co), 1975 (co), 1978, 1989 (co)
- John A. Chalmers, 1965 (co)
- Spencer Mathews, 1969
- Charles Walter, 1970, 1972 (co), 1973 (co), 1974, 1990 (co)
- Otto Estenger, 1971, 1972 (co)
- Jeff Smeltzer, 1973 (co), 1975 (co), 1981
- James Addison, 1975 (co)
- Fred Scott Allsbrook, 1976
- Paul Tinkler, 1977
- Edward McCauley 1979 (co)
- Richard Cohen, 1979 (co)
- Patrick Hart, 1979 (co), 1995 (co)
- Klaus Pohl, 1980, 1982, 1983 (co), 1985 (co), 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992 (co), 1993 (co), 2000, 2005, 2006 (co), 2015
- David Erb, 1983 (co)
- Joseph Zeimetz, 1983 (co)
- Wayne Williams, 1984, 1985 (co), 1987 (co), 1989 (co), 1995 (co)
- Thomas Krause, 1985 (co)
- Dennis Fish, 1987 (co), 1990 (co)
- Randal Ferguson, 1987 (co), 1996, 1997, 2003
- Doug Holmes, 1989 (co)
- Mark Brodie, 1990 (co)
- James Hill, 1990 (co)
- Lindsay Blanks, 1992 (co), 1994
- Philip Laren, 1993 (co)
- Miles F. Ardaman, 1998, 1999, 2001
- Alex Guetchkov, 2002 (co)
- James Burden, 2002 (co)
- Keith Eubanks, 2004 (co)
- John Curcuru, 2004 (co)
- Timur Aliyev, 2006 (co), 2007, 2009
- Wayne Christensen, 2006 (co), 2014
- Phillipp Lamby, 2008, 2010
- Alexander Matros, 2011, 2013, 2020, 2021, 2024 (co), 2025
- Edsel Pena, 2012 (co)
- Benjamin Caiello, 2012 (co), 2016, 2023 (co)
- Gene Nix, 2012 (co)
- Sam Copeland, 2017, 2023 (co)
- Mike Sailer, 2018, 2019, 2022 (co), 2023 (co)
- Uthra Pakkiriswamy, 2022 (co)
- Roger D. Johnson, 2022 (co)
- Kelvin Sanchez, 2024 (co)
CHAMPIONS WITH MOST TITLES
(Minimum 2)
1st: Klaus Pohl, 13 Titles
2nd: Lee Hyder, 7 Titles
3rd: Alexander Matros, 6
4th-6th: Aleksander "Alex" Edelsburg, 5
4th-6th: Charles Walter, 5
4th-6th: Wayne Williams, 5
7th-8th: Randal Ferguson, 4
7th-8th: Mike Sailer, 4
9th-14th: Timur Aliyev, 3
9th-14th: Miles F. Ardaman, 3
9th-14th: Benjamin Caiello, 3
9th-14th: Lanneau L. Foster 3
9th-14th: Hal Mouzon, Jr., 3
9th-14th: Jeff Smeltzer, 3
15th-25th: Lindsay Blanks, 2
15th-25th: R. Grady Brown, 2
15th-25th: Wayne Christensen, 2
15th-25th: Sam Copeland, 2
15th-25th: Paul Lothian Cromelin, 2
15th-25th: Edward Lawrence Dashiell, 2
15th-25th: Otto Estenger, 2
15th-25th: Dennis Fish, 2
15th-25th: Patrick Hart, 2
15th-25th: Rea Bruce Hayes, 2
15th-25th: Phillipp Lamby, 2
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