WAKEFIELD -- One by one, the medals were removed from their plastic bags and laid out carefully on the table.

A bronze medal, won at the 2022 U.S. Chess Federation K-12 Grade Championships in Maryland. Silver medals from the 2023 National Elementary K-6 Championship in Baltimore; the K-12 Championships in Orlando that same year; the 2025 SuperNationals in Orlando; and the 2025 National K-12 Championships in Spokane.

The medals belong to Samanyu Alluri, a fourth grader at St. Joseph School in Wakefield who is the highest-ranked 10-year-old chess player in Massachusetts. He is the 12th highest-ranked 10-year-old chess player in the U.S. and has been reigning national co-champion in his age division for the past three years. He has not lost a single national tournament game -- all were victories or ended in a draw.

"It makes me feel very proud," Samanyu said.

He founded and runs the chess club at St. Joseph, teaching his classmates how to play.

Asked if it's a tough job, he said, "Not really. I have to make sure everyone is paying attention and following along when I'm teaching, and I have to make sure everybody's engaged."

He does not play against his classmates, though seventh grader Varun would like to play Samanyu someday. An aspiring chess player himself, Varun was surprised to learn chess from someone younger than he is.

"I think he's a wonderful person with an amazing mind, and I'm happy that he's won all of these tournaments," said fifth grader Dylan.

Dylan played chess with his grandfather before he died. Continuing to play is Dylan's way of honoring his legacy.

"I love how it's just a simple, classic game with simple moves and a fun way to relax," he said.

Samanyu, who has been playing since he was four, has the opposite view.

"I love how complicated it is and how many possibilities there are," he said.

He wants to be a professional chess player and, hopefully, a world champion when he grows up. He has seen the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer," and says it reminds him a little of himself. His role models are Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju and U.S. Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.

"I like how they take pressure," he said. "They feel a lot of pressure, and they take it in. I get inspired by them."

Samanyu felt the pressure when he entered the World Cadet Chess Championship in Kazakhstan last year. He was playing in a country he had never been to before, against the highest-ranking players his age from around the world. To stay calm, he takes deep breaths, meditates, and prays.

"I was playing really well at that point of time, and I got in," he said.

He prepared for his matches by studying his opponents and figuring out their strategies.

"I'm just thinking about what's the best move, and I'm always feeling tense when I'm playing," he said.

Finding the right move, he said, is the most exciting part. During a game, he can't focus on anything else.

"When I find it, then I get so excited," he said.

He played against chess wizards his age from Vietnam, Monaco, Armenia, and Bulgaria.

"The competition was insane," he said. "Everybody's there trying to win."

In his final game, he "blundered" on the 12th move, costing him the game to a 10-year-old from Russia. He took a nap to "refresh" after his loss.

"Watching it is very tense," said his father, Sandeep Alluri, "and I don't know how he manages so much stress and tense games, but he pulls (it) off."

Samanyu also played in the North American Youth Chess Championship in Canada last August, when he was nine.

"I didn't have the best one, but it's a learning experience," he said.

He will be attending this year's championship in Mexico. His performance there will determine whether he makes it to the world stage as he did in Kazakhstan. He hopes to achieve the rank of national master. Currently, he's working on his calculation -- playing out every possible outcome in his head before deciding his next move.

"When I get home from school, I'll do my homework, and then I go right to chess," he said.

He and his sister Sayujya have attended St. Joseph's since they were in pre-K. Their mother, Sei Alluri, said that the school, which serves over 270 students from pre-K to eighth grade, has taught her son humility.

"Those values, I think the teachers have supported him by instilling," she said.

St. Joseph School Principal Beth Coppinger said that Samanyu and his family "are a huge asset to our school."

"He's a very hardworking young man, he is, and his sister as well," she said. "They're those students that follow our golden rule, always worrying about treating others the way they would like to be treated themselves."

Would she play chess with Samanyu?

"It's amazing to watch him play, but he would beat me in probably less than, I don't know," she said. "What do you think, Samanyu? About three minutes, I think, and that's if you were being kind to me."