Ventura Youth Chess League: Home Page
Our Mission
Educators have long recognized the benefits of engaging children in playing chess. Therefore, chess has been used to enhance the development of thinking process of school-children for centuries in many parts of the world.
We recognized that in Ventura County, especially the Conejo Valley area, there are many great schools with many bright young students doing well in all sorts of activities, yet chess was under-represented, in comparison to some other neighboring areas.Therefore, we established Ventura Youth Chess League, an official US Chess Federation (USCF) affiliate, to promote chess appreciation and competition among the youth in our community.
Woman International Master Simone Liao, the head chess coach of Ventura Youth Chess League, has conducted various chess lessons to groups and individual young chess enthusiasts, ranging from beginners to avid tournament players. We've also organized and directed official USCF chess tournaments to give opportunities to the young players to compete. Besides that, we have also prepared for and taken our young students to regional competition such as the American Open Scholastic Championships and SuperStates Youth Championships. We're glad to see our players do well in these tournaments, as they've won multiple awards. Now, Ventura Youth Chess League covers areas of Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Oxnard and Woodland Hills.
We recognized that in Ventura County, especially the Conejo Valley area, there are many great schools with many bright young students doing well in all sorts of activities, yet chess was under-represented, in comparison to some other neighboring areas.Therefore, we established Ventura Youth Chess League, an official US Chess Federation (USCF) affiliate, to promote chess appreciation and competition among the youth in our community.
Woman International Master Simone Liao, the head chess coach of Ventura Youth Chess League, has conducted various chess lessons to groups and individual young chess enthusiasts, ranging from beginners to avid tournament players. We've also organized and directed official USCF chess tournaments to give opportunities to the young players to compete. Besides that, we have also prepared for and taken our young students to regional competition such as the American Open Scholastic Championships and SuperStates Youth Championships. We're glad to see our players do well in these tournaments, as they've won multiple awards. Now, Ventura Youth Chess League covers areas of Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Oxnard and Woodland Hills.
Featured Updates
February 20, 2016 - There will be a tournament conducted onsite at the Thousand Oaks Chinese School chess class by official certified director Stan Liao and supported by Simone Liao. This will be the first time we hold a rated event at TOCS. Rounds will occur on a weekly basis.
February 17, 2016 - Ventura Youth Chess League has received notice of the state youth chess championships (Southern California SuperStates) , organized by Jay Stallings. This year's championships, held at the Valencia Hyatt from April 8-10, has nine rated divisions, from kindergarten to 12th grade, as well as bughouse and blitz tournaments. Many individual and team prizes will be awarded; this tournament also serves as a qualifier for the prestigious Denker, Barber, and NGIT national invitational championships. We look forward to attending!
January 10, 2016 - We are happy to announce that Coach Stan Liao will be the official chess teacher at Thousand Oaks Chinese School for the advanced chess class. Stan has been working as a teaching assistant for the past three years, and he has practicing as a substitute lecturer in the fall 2015 semester. We look forward to him encouraging a new batch of young chessplayers in the Conejo Valley community.
January 1, 2016 - Happy new year from Ventura Youth Chess League! We look forward to another exciting year of chess. We hope to see our students make progress and do well in various competitions.
December 19, 2015 - Westlake High School Chess Club has a new webpage now, designed by Coach Stan Liao. Regular newsletters are available at the page. More >>
September 12, 2015 - Coach Simone's popular chess class at Thousand Oaks Chinese School starts again, for the fourth year in a row. More >>
July 26, 2015 - Kaylee, a Ventura Youth Chess League student, continues to perform well. After gaining nearly 200 rating points at the Pacific Coast Open tournament in Agoura Hills, Kaylee won first place in her section of the Chesspalace Summer Fiesta.
June 20, 2015 - Ventura Youth Chess League member Kaylee earned first place in her section of the Youth Trophy Tournament (section of the National Open) in Las Vegas.
March 8, 2015 - Ventura Youth Chess League players attended the 2015 SuperStates Youth Chess Championships. Several players did well in their competitive open sections. More >>
November 23, 2014 - Coach Simone Liao led a team of Ventura Youth Chess League players to the 50th annual American Open chess tournament in Anaheim, CA. The team had a strong performance, both individually and as a group. Congratulations to Maya for winning the Junior Varsity K-3 section and teammates Aiden, Ashrith, and Richard for winning the team prize in that section. More >>
August 3, 2014 - Several players from Ventura Youth Chess League attended multiple sections of the annual Summer Fiesta Chess Tournament today on Santa Monica Beach held by Chess Palace and have done well, especially in the PAWN section. Ashrith and Aiden took #3 and #4 respectively. See rating report here >> . Also see Coach Stan's report on one of his students here >> and Chesspalace's tournament summary >>.
July 6, 2014 - A few players from Ventura Youth Chess League participated in 2014 Pacific Southwest Scholastic Chess Tournament in Los Angeles, California. Richard Bo continued to do well in the tournament after his 400-point rating gain one month ago, while Brian Sui won another first place award in the Open section. Both players have had a nice rating increase, see rating report here >> . Meanwhile, Daniel Wang, who is #58 player in the nation for age 8, competed tough battles in the main event of the Pacific Southwest Open tournament.
May 18, 2014 - Several young players Brian, Edward, August and Richard from Ventura Youth Chess League competed in 2014 LA Spring Scholastic Chess Tournament in Glendale, California. They did well in the event. See Coach Stan Liao's report on one of his students here >>
Mar 16, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League team competed in the 2014 state youth chess championships in Valencia, California, led by head coach Simone Liao and assistant coach Stan Liao. The team showed good performance in the event. More >>
Mar 15, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League team coach Simone Liao congratulates 8 year old team member Daniel Wang for making the nation's top chess players list for his age group. More >>
Mar 9, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League team member Brian Sui attended Western Class Chess Championships in Agoura, California and won the Class E section with 4.5-0.5. More >>
Feb 23, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League held the 5th session of Ventura County Youth Championship in Thousand Oaks, California. 19 children competed in 3 divisions of this event directed by USCF Certified Tournament Directors Stan Liao and Simone Liao. More >>
Feb 1, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League started the spring session of chess training program - Chess Tournament Improvement Class in Thousand Oaks California. The 8-week class is taught by Simone Liao, USCF National Master and USCF Certified Chess Coach.
Dec 1, 2013 - Ventura Youth Chess League team attended the 49th American Open Chess Tournament in Anaheim, California, led by Coach Simone Liao. The team performed nicely winning top places in multiple sections for both individual and team competition. More >>
Nov 3, 2013 - Ventura Youth Chess League held the 4th session of Ventura County Youth Championship in Newbury Park, California. 14 children competed in 2 divisions of this fun event conducted by USCF Certified Tournament Directors Stan Liao and Simone Liao. More >>
Oct 31, 2013 - Ventura Youth Chess League started a new session of chess training program - Chess Tournament Preparation Class II in Thousand Oaks California. The 6-week class is taught by Simone Liao, USCF National Master and USCF Certified Chess Coach.
February 17, 2016 - Ventura Youth Chess League has received notice of the state youth chess championships (Southern California SuperStates) , organized by Jay Stallings. This year's championships, held at the Valencia Hyatt from April 8-10, has nine rated divisions, from kindergarten to 12th grade, as well as bughouse and blitz tournaments. Many individual and team prizes will be awarded; this tournament also serves as a qualifier for the prestigious Denker, Barber, and NGIT national invitational championships. We look forward to attending!
January 10, 2016 - We are happy to announce that Coach Stan Liao will be the official chess teacher at Thousand Oaks Chinese School for the advanced chess class. Stan has been working as a teaching assistant for the past three years, and he has practicing as a substitute lecturer in the fall 2015 semester. We look forward to him encouraging a new batch of young chessplayers in the Conejo Valley community.
January 1, 2016 - Happy new year from Ventura Youth Chess League! We look forward to another exciting year of chess. We hope to see our students make progress and do well in various competitions.
December 19, 2015 - Westlake High School Chess Club has a new webpage now, designed by Coach Stan Liao. Regular newsletters are available at the page. More >>
September 12, 2015 - Coach Simone's popular chess class at Thousand Oaks Chinese School starts again, for the fourth year in a row. More >>
July 26, 2015 - Kaylee, a Ventura Youth Chess League student, continues to perform well. After gaining nearly 200 rating points at the Pacific Coast Open tournament in Agoura Hills, Kaylee won first place in her section of the Chesspalace Summer Fiesta.
June 20, 2015 - Ventura Youth Chess League member Kaylee earned first place in her section of the Youth Trophy Tournament (section of the National Open) in Las Vegas.
March 8, 2015 - Ventura Youth Chess League players attended the 2015 SuperStates Youth Chess Championships. Several players did well in their competitive open sections. More >>
November 23, 2014 - Coach Simone Liao led a team of Ventura Youth Chess League players to the 50th annual American Open chess tournament in Anaheim, CA. The team had a strong performance, both individually and as a group. Congratulations to Maya for winning the Junior Varsity K-3 section and teammates Aiden, Ashrith, and Richard for winning the team prize in that section. More >>
August 3, 2014 - Several players from Ventura Youth Chess League attended multiple sections of the annual Summer Fiesta Chess Tournament today on Santa Monica Beach held by Chess Palace and have done well, especially in the PAWN section. Ashrith and Aiden took #3 and #4 respectively. See rating report here >> . Also see Coach Stan's report on one of his students here >> and Chesspalace's tournament summary >>.
July 6, 2014 - A few players from Ventura Youth Chess League participated in 2014 Pacific Southwest Scholastic Chess Tournament in Los Angeles, California. Richard Bo continued to do well in the tournament after his 400-point rating gain one month ago, while Brian Sui won another first place award in the Open section. Both players have had a nice rating increase, see rating report here >> . Meanwhile, Daniel Wang, who is #58 player in the nation for age 8, competed tough battles in the main event of the Pacific Southwest Open tournament.
May 18, 2014 - Several young players Brian, Edward, August and Richard from Ventura Youth Chess League competed in 2014 LA Spring Scholastic Chess Tournament in Glendale, California. They did well in the event. See Coach Stan Liao's report on one of his students here >>
Mar 16, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League team competed in the 2014 state youth chess championships in Valencia, California, led by head coach Simone Liao and assistant coach Stan Liao. The team showed good performance in the event. More >>
Mar 15, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League team coach Simone Liao congratulates 8 year old team member Daniel Wang for making the nation's top chess players list for his age group. More >>
Mar 9, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League team member Brian Sui attended Western Class Chess Championships in Agoura, California and won the Class E section with 4.5-0.5. More >>
Feb 23, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League held the 5th session of Ventura County Youth Championship in Thousand Oaks, California. 19 children competed in 3 divisions of this event directed by USCF Certified Tournament Directors Stan Liao and Simone Liao. More >>
Feb 1, 2014 - Ventura Youth Chess League started the spring session of chess training program - Chess Tournament Improvement Class in Thousand Oaks California. The 8-week class is taught by Simone Liao, USCF National Master and USCF Certified Chess Coach.
Dec 1, 2013 - Ventura Youth Chess League team attended the 49th American Open Chess Tournament in Anaheim, California, led by Coach Simone Liao. The team performed nicely winning top places in multiple sections for both individual and team competition. More >>
Nov 3, 2013 - Ventura Youth Chess League held the 4th session of Ventura County Youth Championship in Newbury Park, California. 14 children competed in 2 divisions of this fun event conducted by USCF Certified Tournament Directors Stan Liao and Simone Liao. More >>
Oct 31, 2013 - Ventura Youth Chess League started a new session of chess training program - Chess Tournament Preparation Class II in Thousand Oaks California. The 6-week class is taught by Simone Liao, USCF National Master and USCF Certified Chess Coach.