Wisconsin has been active on the national chess scene for longer than most other states in the union, but we seem to have come to the idea of formalizing the state champion later than our contemporaries. The earliest formal championship we've been able to find was a match that crowned Carl Eppert as the official state champion. We're still digging through archives looking to fill in the blanks, as there was active club play in the state going back to the days of Morphy and Paulsen. This list is the official list; if you have information about champions not on it, please contact us with the information.
Wisconsin State Chess Champions
| Year | Listed Winner(s) | Unlisted Winners | Score | Site |
| 1923 | Carl Eppert | |||
| 1924 | Carl Heden | |||
| 1929 | Carl Anderson | |||
| 1930 | Harold Knutson | |||
| 1932 | Harold Knutson | |||
| 1933 | Robert Reel | |||
| 1934 | Walter Heyn | Milwaukee | ||
| 1935 | Arpad Elo | Milwaukee | ||
| 1936 | Mark Surgies | Sheboygan | ||
| 1937 | Arpad Elo | La Crosse | ||
| 1938 | Arpad Elo | Green Bay | ||
| 1939 | Enos Wicher | Milwaukee | ||
| 1940 | Arpad Elo/Enos Wicher | Racine | ||
| 1941 | Arpad Elo | Madison | ||
| 1942 | Arpad Elo | Green Bay | ||
| 1943 | Averill Powers | Milwaukee | ||
| 1944 | Robert Reel | Milwaukee | ||
| 1945 | Arpad Elo/Averill Powers | Madison | ||
| 1946 | Jerome Kraszewski | Appleton | ||
| 1947 | Richard Kujoth | Oshkosh | ||
| 1948 | Richard Kujoth | Sheboygan | ||
| 1949 | Richard Kujoth | Janesville | ||
| 1950 | Arpad Elo/Averill Powers | Racine | ||
| 1951 | Enos Wicher | Milwaukee | ||
| 1952 | Richard Kujoth | Waterloo | ||
| 1953 | Richard Kujoth | Fond du Lac | ||
| 1954 | Averill Powers | Appleton | ||
| 1955 | Hugh Meyers | Beloit | ||
| 1956 | Jerome Kraszewski | Sheboygan | ||
| 1957 | Marshall Rohland | La Crosse | ||
| 1958 | Richard Kujoth | Madison | ||
| 1959 | Charles Weldon | Sturgeon Bay | ||
| 1960 | Henry Meifert | Fond du Lac | ||
| 1961 | Arpad Elo | Racine | ||
| 1962 | Allen Reiter | Madison | ||
| 1963 | Charles Weldon | Sheboygan | ||
| 1964 | William Martz/John Dedinsky | Fond du Lac | ||
| 1965 | William Martz | Racine | ||
| 1966 | William Martz | Manitowoc | ||
| 1967 | Martin Safer | Madison | ||
| 1968 | William Williams | Wausau | ||
| 1969 | William Martz | Milwaukee | ||
| 1970 | William Martz | Appleton | ||
| 1971 | John Anderson | Racine | ||
| 1972 | Peter Dorman | 4.5/5 | Stevens Point | |
| 1973 | John Anderson | Manitowoc | ||
| 1974 | William Martz | Waukesha | ||
| 1975 | William Martz | Green Bay | ||
| 1976 | Robert Jones | Racine | ||
| 1977 | Josef Friedman/Peter Dorman | 5.5/7 | Fond du Lac | |
| 1978 | James Ellis | Bill Williams/Robert Holyon/Robert Jones | 5.5/7 | Madison |
| 1979 | Charles Weldon | 5.5/6 | Oshkosh | |
| 1980 | Louis Dina | Bill Williams/Alex Milson/George Ljaschenko/Henry Meifert/Peter Webster | 4/5 | Pewaukee |
| 1981 | Thomas Moore | 5/5 | Janesville | |
| 1982 | William Williams/Ethan Allen | 4.5/5 | Fond du Lac | |
| 1983 | William Williams/Leonid Bass | 4.5/5 | Milwaukee | |
| 1984 | Peter Webster | 4.5/5 | Janesville | |
| 1985 | Revi Schea | 5/6 | Fond du Lac | |
| 1986 | Thomas Moore | 5.5/6 | Racine | |
| 1987 | Steven Odendahl | 6.5/7 | Madison | |
| 1988 | Thomas Moore | David Penkalski/Jeff Cooper | 5/6 | Manitowoc |
| 1989 | Chris Dunworth | Dale Sharp/Mike La Budde | 5/6 | Fond du Lac |
| 1990 | Steven Odendahl | 5.5/6 | Stevens Point | |
| 1991 | Roman Levit/David Penkalski | 5.5/6 | Oshkosh | |
| 1992 | William Williams/Josh Manion | 5/6 | Madison | |
| 1993 | William Williams/Jeff Cooper | 5/6 | Fond du Lac | |
| 1994 | Roman Levit | 5/6 | Milwaukee | |
| 1995 | Roman Levit | 5.5/6 | Fond du Lac | |
| 1996 | Roman Levit | 5.5/6 | Fond du Lac | |
| 1997 | Aniruddha Deshpande | 5.5/6 | Eau Claire | |
| 1998 | Aniruddha Deshpande | 5.5/6 | Oshkosh | |
| 1999 | Bryan Lilly/Jeff Cooper | 5/6 | Fond du Lac | |
| 2000 | Alex Betaneli | 5.5/6 | Green Bay | |
| 2001 | William Williams/Alex Betaneli | 5/6 | Racine | |
| 2002 | William Williams/Yuan Jia Xu | 5/6 | Milwaukee | |
| 2003 | Bryan Lilly/Larry Butler | 5/6 | Oshkosh | |
| 2004 | Bryan Lilly/Yuan Jia Xu | 5/6 | Green Bay | |
| 2005 | Alex Betaneli | 6/6 | Neenah | |
| 2006 | Jeremy Kane/Kelly Borman | 4.5/6 | Wisconsin Dells | |
| 2007 | Jeremy Kane | 5/6 | Madison | |
| 2008 | Erik Santarius | 6/6 | Green Bay | |
| 2009 | Erik Santarius/Jeremy Kane | 5.5/6 | Milwaukee | |
| 2010 | Erik Santarius | 5/6 | Madison | |
| 2011 | David Jin | 5/6 | Wausau | |
| 2012 | Alex Betaneli | 5.5/6 | Middleton | |
| 2013 | Erik Santarius | 5.5/6 | Neenah | |
| 2014 | Benedict Smail/Scott Haubrich | 5/6 | Oconomowoc | |
| 2015 | Scott Haubrich | 5.5/6 | Green Bay | |
| 2016 | Vijay Raghavan | 5/5 | Madison | |
| 2017 | Josh Friedel | 5.5/6 | Brookfield | |
| 2018 | Joziah Rudolph | 6/6 | Green Bay | |
| 2019 | Erik Santarius | 5.5/6 | Madison | |
| 2020 | No Event Held | |||
| 2021 | Avinash Rajendra | 4.5/5 | Green Bay | |
| 2022 | Avinash Rajendra | 4.5/5 | Manitowoc | |
| 2023 | John Alexander Zapata | 6/6 | Manitowoc | |
| 2024 | Trevor Magness | 4.5/5 | Manitowoc | |
| 2025 |