LHWHS rising senior Iris Zhou has received the Scholar-Chessplayer Award from the United States Chess Federation (USCF), US Chess Trust, and National Scholastic Chess Foundation.
She is one of five students in the nation to receive the award, given to high school juniors and seniors for their combined excellence in chess, academics, and leadership in the community.
Iris started playing chess at the age of six and currently holds the title of Women’s Candidate Master from the International Chess Federation, along with the title of Candidate Master from the USCF.
She is ranked as one of the top female chess players in her age group in the country and has competed in various international, national, and regional tournaments with top rankings.
While spending a lot of time on chess, Iris also strives to excel in academics.
She maintains a 4.0 GPA and has received multiple academics-based awards at the national and state level in subjects including math, writing, and Spanish language.
Iris also uses her chess skills to give back to the community, having taught hundreds of young students through her volunteer chess classes in the local Chinese school and her annual free chess camps.
To learn more about how students earn the Scholar-Chessplayer Award, click here.