Eric Luster will succeed Rose Grandy as the Director of Warren Junior Scholars and the ICA's Rising Stars programs.
Mrs. Grandy has led the programs since 2017, taking over from Scott Daniels.
Mr. Luster has been a local TD for the USCF for the last 6-8 years. He has worked as a chess coach, 8th grade teacher and Math Department Chair for the Archdiocese of Chicago for the last several years. Although Eric claims to be just an average chess player himself, he hopes his biggest asset for Illinois chess, and specifically the WJS/RS programs will be his above average love of the game and desire to be an advocate for scholastic chess students, particularly in the state of Illinois. His daughter is a Warren Scholar.
Warren Scholars and Rising Stars are programs aimed at recognizing youth accomplishments in rated chess and providing training and camaraderie-promoting activities.
Inclusion in the programs is ordinarily dependent on both OTB rating and tournament participation. However, because of covid restrictions, OTB rating will be used but tournament participation will not be emphasized. Scholastic membership in the ICA will be required.
Due to the transition, compilation of the 2020-2021 classes has been ongoing but not yet announced. The ICA would like to afford potential participants a chance to contact the organization if they meet the requirements.
Current rating eligibility is as follows:
| Girls | Boys | |||
| K - 12 | K - 5 | Junior High | High School | |
| Warren Scholars | 1500 | 1500 | 1700 | 1900 |
| Rising Stars | 1200 | 1200 | 1350 | 1500 |
Any scholastic players who meet the rating requirement but were not in either program in 2019-2020, Please contact Mr. Luster at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by December 15th. He will need name, USCF #, gender, current school grade and a contact email address.