This is the 8th year of Pawn Stormers. We are a group of rapidly improving scholastic chess players. The original concept was created by Jim Hodina, a well-known chess player, organizer, tournament director and a chess promoter from Iowa. The team was exclusively for Iowa players until Jim retired in 2023. Alex Betaneli and Erik Santarius took over the organizing duties in 2023. We now have some of the most dedicated and talented players from Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota on the team. We meet regularly in zoom+lichess and attend several over-the-board tournaments in the Midwest as a group. If you are interested in joining, please contact Alex Betaneli (abetaneli@hotmail.com).