Chess Student Spotlight: Amelia (Mimi) Zhang

Although our typical chess student is a casual player who mostly wants to learn new skills, make friends, and have fun, we’ve also had our fair share of chess players who have gone on to become state and even national scholastic chess champions.

We want to spotlight Amelia (Mimi) Zhang, and shout her out for winning the Virginia State K-3 Championships!

According to her chess coach Paul, Mimi has long been a standout chess player. When she was in first grade, for a long time she was the second best player in her club.  Paul says she kept practicing and working really hard, asking questions and the like, and eventually did manage to become the top player in the club.

Now that she's in third grade, Mimi mostly practices with the fifth and sixth graders in her after school club, but she doesn't hesitate to help out the other third graders.

We did a short interview with Mimi this spring, which is down below along with one of her best games from the tournament!

Mimi posing with her giant trophy at the 2025 Virginia Scholastic Championships

Here’s what we learned about Mimi: 

How did you learn to play chess?

My dad taught me the basic rules of chess, and I practiced at home. Then I went to Silver Knights Academy to learn how to play better. Currently, most of the time I just play on chess.com. 

Do you remember your first tournament? What happened?

Yes, my first tournament was the Cub Run Scholastic Tournament in spring 2023. I won all the games in the beginner K-3 section but got second place because of a tiebreaker.

What’s your favorite thing about playing chess?

My favorite thing about playing chess is how I get to calculate multiple moves ahead.

Who is your favorite chess player? 

Magnus Carlsen and Judit Polgár.

Was this your first time playing in the state chess championship? 

No, I played in the K-3 section last year.

What was your best game from this chess tournament?

The fourth round when I played with Jacob. (editorial note: see below!)

Besides playing chess, what else do you like to do?

My other hobbies are reading, writing, swimming, and playing squash.

What's your favorite non-chess book?

"The Wrath of the Triple Goddess".

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

I want to be a teacher or a college professor.