INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – A team of four homeschooled girls are celebrating a historic, third-consecutive win after competing in this year’s Nevada State Girls Scholastic Chess Championship. 

The girls competed against all Nevada schools in kindergarten through 12th grade, both public and private, before taking home the trophy– a remarkable feat for team members Kora Ostertag, 12, Acadia Holve, 14, her sister, Alora Holve, 12, and Allisyn Flower, 12.

Eric Ostertag, father of Kora Ostertag, not only coaches all four girls but also serves on the board of the Silver State Chess Association. He is responsible for leading the reorganization of the championship’s qualifier format.

Previously, all games and scholastic tournaments were held in Las Vegas, so if a child from Northern Nevada wanted to go, they’d have to pay for costs to travel down, find hotel accommodations, etc., thus diminishing participation for Northern Nevada residents. Ostertag helped reorganize the qualifiers so that the Northern part of the state and the Southern part of the state can both compete in over-the-board tournaments locally, making it more accessible for participation.

Alongside Ostertag is Annastasia Wyzywany, who has coached three of the girls over the course of several years. Through both coaches’ leadership and guidance, the girls have developed into strong competitors.

Flower, the team’s newest addition, worked closely with Wyzywany to learn more about scholastic chess and its fundamental principles.

“It helped me learn actual tactics because before, I didn’t really use any tactics – at least that I know the name of,” said Flower. “It also helped me get endgame tactics so that I could win more.” 

And win they did. First competing in the Northern Nevada Girls Scholastic Chess Championship, a qualifier for the overall Nevada State Championship, Kora Ostertag won the Individual Northern Nevada Girls Championship while team members, Acadia Holve took second and her sister, Alora, took third. 

Their wins sent them to the Nevada State Girls Scholastic Chess Championship, where both individually and as a team, they secured championship titles. 

“Chess is often a solitary sport, so when you can win with a team, it’s something that feels entirely different,” said Acadia Holve. “I really love the competitive nature of the sport, and it feels really good when you can finally get that win, when you put in the time and you’re able to come out feeling really good at the end.”

Alora Holve said her favorite thing about chess, aside from the competitiveness, is the team aspect. “It means you’re not just playing for yourself. If you let yourself down, you’re letting your whole team down. It gives you more motivation, which I actually really appreciate.”

Kora Ostertag, winner of this year’s Individual State Championship, said her preparation for this tournament was harder than anything she’d done in the past due to the fact that she went up a division. Previously, Kora played in the K5 tournament against players between kindergarten and fifth grade. This year, she played against kids who ranged from kindergarten to 12th grade.

“There were harder players this time, because they’re just older and have more experience,” said Kora, who despite competing against those experienced players, still won. 

“The girls have had tremendous success both as a team and as individuals,” said Ostertag. “Alora had an incredibly good tournament this year, winning the K12 challenger section in the open tournament against boys and girls together, which is the same section Acadia won individually last year.” 

With competitions sometimes lasting for hours at a time, the girls have let out a sigh of relief after relishing in the pay off of their hard work, and while their days are made up of school work and chess practice, they find time to focus on other things they enjoy. For Kora, it’s riding her horses, Allisyn enjoys making art, Acadia is working on a new podcast she started, and her and her sister Alora enjoy playing piano.

Although they still harbor goals to enhance their skills for future tournaments, spirits are high for the four girls as they add another trophy to their shelf. 

“We’re still learning, and our opponents just keep getting better,” said Alora. “That’s almost as good as winning, knowing that you’ve improved, but so have your opponents which means you can improve next time as well.”

To learn more about the Silver State Chess Association, visit https://silverstatechess.org.