The full season schedule is set, running December through February. All seven schools have confirmed their rosters and dues. Here's what to expect this season.
December is almost here, and so is chess.
Seven schools are confirmed for the 2025–26 season. Lancaster Catholic is still working through a coaching situation, and we're hopeful they'll find their footing in time to join the field — but for now, the league opens with seven. Each team will carry a bye week built into the schedule as a result.
Matches run Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, a format the league has used for years to avoid conflicts with Quiz Bowl competitions on Mondays and Wednesdays. January's schedule is deliberately paced a bit slower to give schools on block scheduling room around course finals. The regular season runs through mid-February, with a possible playoff round if two teams finish tied for first, and an end-of-season Swiss tournament to close things out.
The team to beat
Lancaster Mennonite enters as defending champions — and they're bringing back the pieces that got them there. Senior Donavon Stoltzfus returns as the top-rated player in the league. Behind him, sophomores David Astuto and Caden Weire — both in the top three — give LM a top of the roster that no other school can match right now. If someone is going to knock them off, they'll need to do it board by board.
The challengers
Hempfield comes in with real title ambitions. Seniors Hayden Petrasek and Ty Sauder both enter the season ranked in the top ten, and the Spartans have enough depth to compete with anyone on a given afternoon. This could be the year they make a serious run.
Manheim Township is similarly positioned. Seniors Isaac Link and William Lee are both top-ten players heading in, and the Blue Streaks have shown they can play with the league's best. Expect them in the conversation all season.
Lancaster Country Day graduated only one senior from last year's squad. The Cougars won the league title in 2022–23, and seniors Jason Liu, Owen Giunta, Nate Weiss, and Austin Zheng — with Zheng returning to the lineup after stepping away the past two seasons to focus on basketball — give Country Day an experienced group with something to prove.
Ephrata has a trio of players worth watching. Senior Jeremiah Cassidy leads the way, joined by rising juniors Skylar Moua and Mykhailo Burdyn — all three ranked in the top 25 to start the season. If those three are on, Ephrata can make things difficult for anyone.
Elizabethtown enters with some questions to answer. Last season's top-rated player, Cameron Elder, has graduated, and the Bears will be sorting out their board order early. How quickly they find their footing could determine where they land in the final standings.
Penn Manor is a young program building its footing in the league, and Lancaster Catholic — should they secure a coach — would bring a welcome addition back to the field. Both programs have students who want to compete, and that's what matters most.
The schedule
First matches go Tuesday, December 9th and Thursday, December 11th. Check the full season schedule for match dates, host schools, and round assignments.
This league has been running since 1967. Fifty-eight seasons in. Let's make this one worth watching.