From Dec. 12 to 14, Mason Li, a seventh grader at TEMS, was not in the classroom. Instead, he was across the country in Spokane, Washington, where he competed in the 2025 National K-12 Grade Chess Championships.
Initially inspired by his older brother, Li began playing chess at the age of four. His grandfather also contributed to Li’s developing interest, as Li would play with him leisurely at a young age.
“He started really early,” Li’s father Robin Li said. “I think since he was five or six (years old), we started to take him to tournaments. And I said, ‘Maybe he’s really into this thing’ and most importantly, he really likes it.”…