CalChess State Scholastics History

Bay Area Chess hosts the annual CalChess State Scholastic Championships this weekend in Santa Clara. This year is the 44th edition of a tradition that started at a school, but has grown to fill several halls of a major convention center. Roughly 1200 children compete in 16 sections divided by age and chess skill. On Sunday evening, state champions will be crowned for the five Championship divisions: K-3, K-5, K-6, K-8 and K-12.

List of Scholastic Champions from 1986 to present

Check out the following trivia from more than three decades. Unfortunately, the records from 1976 through 1985 are not readily available.

• First exceeded 500 players = 1997
• First exceeded 1000 players = 2001
• Largest turnout = 1319 in 2006
• New sections added = Elementary K-5 section was only introduced in 2007 while Kindergarten began in 1997
• Most High School individual titles = Vinay Bhat won 4 from 1998-2002. Three masters won 3 times: Andy McManus (1987-1990), Dmitry Zilberstein (1994-1997) and Cameron Wheeler (2013-2015).
• Most High School team titles = 6 shared by Lowell High (1986-1994) and Saratoga High (2005-2010)
• Youngest High School winner = 5th grader Daniel Naroditsky
• Three 5-time champions = Vinay Bhat (K-3, K-12, K-12, K-12, K-12), Neel Apte (K-3, K-5, K-6, K-8, K-8), and Cameron Wheeler (K-5, K-6, K-12, K-12, K-12)
• Four 4-time champions = Micah Fischer-Kirshner (K-3, K-6, K-6, K-12), Adam Lischinsky (K-3, K-3, K-8, K-12), Daniel Naroditsky (K-3, K-6, K-12, K-12), and James Kwok (K-3, K-6, K-8, K-8) 
• Eleven 3-time champions = Andy McManus, Alan Stein, Dmitry Zilberstein, Keith Yost, Daniel Schwarz, Steven Zierk, Yian Liou, Kyle Shin, Tanuj Vasudeva, Siddharth Banik, Kevin Pan
• Grand Slam champions = None! Must win all four of K-3, either K-5 or K-6, K-8, and K-12. Eight juniors have won 3 out of 4. 
• Champions to become GM = Vinay Bhat, Steven Zierk, Daniel Naroditsky
• Champions to become IM = Alan Stein, Dmitry Zilberstein, Philip Wang, Yian Liou, Vignesh Panchanatham, Cameron Wheeler, Kesav Viswanadha
• Current US Champion Sam Shankland never won at the CalChess Scholastics. However, he became adult State Champ at age 16 (a record that was recently broken).
• The Schism of 2005 saw the CalChess Scholastics in Oakland compete against the CalNorth Regional in San Jose on same weekend. The Regional drew over twice as many kids (906 to 397).
• More than 20 false 9-1-1 calls from public telephones marred the 1998 edition at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
• Kudos to the main organizers = Ray Orwig, Dr. Alan Kirshner, Richard Peterson, Dr. Salman Azhar, and Dr. Judit Sztaray

Please contact Michael Aigner with errors, omissions, or additional trivia. Many thanks to Dr. Alan Kirshner for maintaining the records from 1986 to 2011. 

NorCal Top 100 Lists

An incredible total of 145 boys and girls from Northern California earned recognition on the NorCal Top 100 Lists, which are compiled using the monthly US Chess Top 100 Lists. The junior rankings include 34 titled players, including 22 masters, 3 IMs and one WIM. The most competitive ages range from 10 to 12 and 16 to 17, each year with at least a dozen representatives. Hearty congratulations to all of these kids, their parents and coaches!

More than 90 of these talented youngsters hold a published FIDE rating recognizable around the globe, including almost all those age 12 or older. Merely a dozen years ago, the number was in the single digits. Many young globe trotters already represented California and the United States abroad, either at Pan American Youth or at the World Youth and World Cadet festivals. Indeed, success in chess can serve as a passport to travel.

Without further ado, I present the cream of the crop, the Best of the West. Check out my website for the complete NorCal Top 100 Lists for July 2017.


GOLD MEDAL (Top 5)

• SM Jack Zhu #5 age 18
• IM Vignesh Panchanatham #3 age 17 and National Champion K-12 
• IM Kesav Viwanadha #4 age 17 and National Champion K-12
• IM Cameron Wheeler #4 age 16
• WIM Ashritha Eswaran #4 girls 16-18
• SM Rayan Taghizadeh #4 age 14 and National Champion K-9
• SM Andrew Hong #1 age 12
• NM Balaji Daggupati #4 age 12
• ** WCM Rochelle Wu #2 girls 10-12
• NM Christopher Yoo #2 age 10
• Rui Yang Yan #5 girls 10-12
• ** Eric Li #2 age 9
• CM Sriram Krishnakumar #3 age 8

** recently moved to California


SILVER MEDAL (Top 15)

• NM Gabriel Bick (18)
• FM Ladia Jirasek (16)
• NM Siddharth Banik (16)
• NM Michael Wang (15)
• NM Ivan Ke (14)
• FM Josiah Stearman (13)
• Annapoorni Meiyappan (12)
• CM Chinguun Bayaraa (11)
• Kevin Pan (11)
• WCM Aksithi Eswaran (11)
• Adrian Kondakov (9)
• WCM Ashley Pang (9)
• WCM Anika Rajaram (8)

BRONZE MEDAL (Top 30)

• NM Teemu Virtanen (18)
• NM Allan Beilin (18)
• NM Pranav Nagarajan (17)
• NM Colin Chow (17)
• NM Art Zhao (17)
• NM Richard Yi (17)
• Sophia Li (17)
• Kimberly Liu (14)
• Justin Feng (13)
• David Pan (13)
• Alex Kolay (12)
• Maurya Palusa (11)
• Krishna Nathan (11)
• Vyom Vidyarthi (10)
• Shawnak Shivakumar (9)
• Kally Wen (9)
• Nitish Nath (8)
• Shaaketh Sivakumar (8)
• Omya Vidyarthi (7)
• Ryan Wang (7)

US Open in Indianapolis

Participants of the Denker Invitational. NM Michael Wang is in second row,
sixth from the right, wearing light blue dress shirt. Photo credit: US Chess

The 117th US Open kicked off this weekend in Indianapolis.  The 9-round tournament features three schedules: one game per day, 6 days beginning on Tuesday, and 4 days at an accelerated time control.  The 6-day schedule tends to be most popular.  After the merge prior to round 7, all participants compete for the same prizes.  At the time of this post, there are 10 Grandmasters among the 311 entrants, led by top rated GM Alex Lenderman (Note: GM Illia Nyzhnyk is now the highest rated after joining the 6-day schedule.)

The annual US Open features daily side events alongside the main tournament.  Chess politicians from around America meet to discuss the business of governing the US Chess Federation.  Three prestigious scholastic invitationals each offer $5,000 college scholarships to the winners.  The Denker, named after the late GM Arnold Denker, attracts the high school state champion from every state.  The Barber, named after organizer Dewain Barber of Southern California, targets top K-8 players from each state.  Likewise, the National Girl's Tournament of Champions invites the top young ladies.  Each of these invitationals runs 6 rounds over four days.

• US Open information


• Merged tournament standings


• Live games on Monroi


• Denker standings
• Barber standings
• Girls standings


• CalChess representatives (final score)
  
  • NM Michael Wang (Denker) = 4.0 (three master scalps)
  • Balaji Daggupati (Barber) = 3.5 (two master scalps, including top seed)
  • Divija Hasteer (Girls) = 3.0

Chess Students Head Off To College

All smiles on graduation day.

For almost two decades, I have been blessed with the opportunity to coach some of the brightest young minds in Northern California.  Simply spoken, smart children play chess, and chess offers a competitive arena to exercise their brain muscles.  Of course, I always knew my students had the cerebral skill to excel.  And every June, it seems that the graduates move on to some of the best colleges in America.  Well done mates!

The High School graduating Classes of 2015 and 2016 included more than a dozen of my former chess trainees, four who achieved the master level.  Their college choices were, quite literally, all over the map.  Six preferred the short commute to Berkeley, Stanford, UC Santa Cruz and San Jose State.  Another signed up for the short flight to UC Irvine.  The remaining students apparently wanted to get away from home--far, far away.  They enrolled at MIT, New York University, Carnegie Mellon, Wesleyan, U Mass and Washington University (Saint Louis).  Quite a list, I dare say!  

The following list shows the universities all around the country where 51 of my former chess students enrolled at (includes incoming freshmen).  Two prominent Bay Area schools top of the list.  Roughly 2/3 stayed close to home, choosing to study at one of a dozen California schools.  If it is not the nice weather, then it must be the worldwide acclaim of the University of California.  Indeed, my list includes 7 of the 9 undergraduate UC campuses.   

• 14 = UC Berkeley
• 6 = Stanford 
• 3 = MIT and UC San Diego
• 2 = Duke, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, UCLA and UC Santa Cruz  
• 1 = Cambridge (UK), Yale, Wesleyan, UMass, Rutgers, Northwestern, Washington (StL), Caltech, Pomona, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Pacific, San Jose State and Puget Sound

Note: The above list only includes undergraduate institutions and not graduate schools.

NorCal Top Adults - January 2016

GM Negi studies at Stanford University (credit: Stanford Daily)

1. GM Negi, Parimarjan 2734 USCF 2664 FIDE
2. GM Shankland, Sam 2723 2638
3. GM Naroditsky, Daniel 2710 2634
4. GM Chirila, Cristian 2599 2536



GM Chirila

5. GM Barbosa, Oliver 2593 2508
6. GM De Firmian, Nick 2583 2508
7. GM Kraai, Jesse 2573 2510
8. GM Bhat, Vinay 2570 2519
9. IM Mc Cambridge, Vincent 2515 2465
10. IM Liou, Yian 2500 2414
11. SM Sharma, Arun 2456 2362
12. IM Mezentsev, Vladimir 2444 2359
13. FM Wheeler, Cameron 2436 2369
14. IM Pruess, David 2416 2350
15. FM Panchanatham, Vignesh 2416 2344
16. IM Viswanadha, Kesav 2415 2359
17. FM Lee, Andy 2391 2317
18. IM De Guzman, Ricardo 2387 2363
19. FM Critelli, James 2366 2273
20. IM Kaufman, Ray 2337 2315

http://www.fpawn.com/NorCalTopAdults.pdf

Local Kids Play for Medals

USA teammates Aydin Turgut (white) and Andrew Hong shake
hands before playing in round 9. Photo by Kerrie Utsumi.

Two rounds remain at the World Youth Championships in Halkidiki, and half of the Bay Area participants have already clinched at least a 50% final score (5.5).  Three remain in contention to earn a medal: NMs Andrew Hong and Hans Niemann in U12 plus Aghilan Nachiappan in U8.  Andrew has the strongest chances since he is currently tied for first in U12 with two others.

The championships conclude with round 10 on Wednesday (5am PST) and round 11 on Thursday (Midnight PST).  Watch the top boards in each section (except U8) LIVE!  Go U-S-A!


Bay Area Juniors at World Youth
(Updated after Round 9) 

• Open U16
  • FM Cameron Wheeler 6.0
• Open U14
  • FM Rayan Taghizadeh 6.0
• Open U12
  • NM Andrew Hong 7.5 in 3rd place
  • NM Hans Niemann 7.0 in 5th place
  • David Pan 5.0
• Open U10
  • William Sartorio 5.5
  • Balaji Daggupati 5.5
  • Christopher Yoo 5.5
  • CM Chinguun Bayaraa 5.0
  • Rishith Susarla 4.0
  • Prarthan Ghosh 3.5
• Open U8
  • CM Aghilan Nachiappan 6.5 in 8th place
  • Adrian Kondakov 4.5
  • Sriram Krishnakumar 4.5
• Girls U16
  • WIM Eswaran Ashritha 6.0
• Girls U14
  • Simona Nayberg 4.0
  • WFM Joanna Liu 5.5
  • Serafina Show 3.5
• Girls U12
  • WCM Chenyi Zhao 4.5
  • Hiya Ghosh 3.0
• Girls U10
  • WCM Aksithi Eswaran 6.0
  • Annapoorni Meiyappan 5.5
• Girls U8
  • Wong, Allyson 5.0
  • Yan Rui Yang 5.0

CalChess Contenders at World Youth

FIDE Masters Cameron (L) and Rayan (R)
smile for Cam's mother Kerrie Utsumi.

The World Youth Championships in Greece have passed the midway point.  Ten out of 22 Bay Area participants have maintained a Plus-2 score through Round 6, with another seven sitting at Plus-1!  The masters Andrew, Cameron, Rayan and Ashritha are leading the local delegation by example.  Five more rounds remain.  Go U-S-A!

Bay Area Juniors at World Youth
(Updated after Round 6) 

• Open U16
  • FM Cameron Wheeler (2356) 4.5 in 7th place
• Open U14
  • FM Rayan Taghizadeh (2240) 4.5 in 11th place
• Open U12
  • NM Andrew Hong (2136) 5.0 in 4th place
  • NM Hans Niemann## (2046) 5.0 in 6th place
  • David Pan (1848) 3.0
• Open U10
  • CM Chinguun Bayaraa (1893) 4.5
  • Christopher Yoo (1807) 2.5
  • Balaji Daggupati (1767) 3.5
  • William Sartorio (1725) 3.5
  • Rishith Susarla (1505) 4.0
  • Prarthan Ghosh (unrated) 2.0
• Open U8
  • Adrian Kondakov (1565) 4.5
  • Sriram Krishnakumar (1280) 3.5
  • CM Aghilan Nachiappan (unrated) 4.5
• Girls U16
  • WIM Eswaran Ashritha (2207) 4.0
• Girls U14
  • Simona Nayberg (1905) 3.5
  • WFM Joanna Liu## (1857) 3.0
  • Serafina Show (1593) 1.0
• Girls U12
  • Hiya Ghosh (1785) 1.0
  • WCM Chenyi Zhao (1544) 3.5
• Girls U10
  • WCM Aksithi Eswaran (1473) 3.5
  • Annapoorni Meiyappan (1246) 4.0
• Girls U8
  • Wong, Allyson (unrated) 3.0
  • Yan Rui Yang (unrated) 3.5

N.B. All ratings above are FIDE.  I am tracking a pair of players (Hans Niemann and Joanna Liu) who have ties to the Bay Area chess community, but now live out of state.

CalChess Well Represented in Greece

Ashritha at Pan Am Junior 2015

Rayan at World Youth 2014

Young chess players from the Bay Area comprise one-sixth of Team USA at the World Youth Festival in Greece.  Four masters lead the local representatives: FM Cameron Wheeler (silver medal for U12 at 2012 World), FM Rayan Taghizadeh (bronze medal for U12 at 2014 World), WIM Ashritha Eswaran (winner of both 2015 US Junior Girls and 2015 Pan Am Junior Girls) and NM Andrew Hong (champion at 2015 US Elementary K-6 as a 4th grader).  Overall, 13 boys and 9 girls, together with their dedicated parents, made the trip from San Francisco to Halkidiki.  They will participate in every age group except U18.

Nine out of 22 Bay Area kids have achieved a perfect score through Round 2!!

Bay Area Juniors at World Youth
(Updated after Round 2) 

• Open U16
  • FM Cameron Wheeler (2356) 2.0
• Open U14
  • FM Rayan Taghizadeh (2240) 2.0
• Open U12
  • NM Andrew Hong (2136) 2.0
  • NM Hans Niemann## (2046) 2.0
  • David Pan (1848) 1.0
• Open U10
  • CM Chinguun Bayaraa (1893) 2.0
  • Christopher Yoo (1807) 1.0
  • Balaji Daggupati (1767) 1.5
  • William Sartorio (1725) 2.0
  • Rishith Susarla (1505) 0.5
  • Prarthan Ghosh (unrated) 0.0
• Open U8

  

  Young Adrian at Berkeley Chess

  • Adrian Kondakov (1565) 2.0
  • Sriram Krishnakumar (1280) 1.5
  • CM Aghilan Nachiappan (unrated) 2.0
• Girls U16
  • WIM Eswaran Ashritha (2207) 2.0
• Girls U14
  • Simona Nayberg (1905) 1.0
  • WFM Joanna Liu## (1857) 1.0
  • Serafina Show (1593) 1.0
• Girls U12
  • Hiya Ghosh (1785) 0.0
  • WCM Chenyi Zhao (1544) 1.0
• Girls U10
  • WCM Aksithi Eswaran (1473) 1.0
  • Annapoorni Meiyappan (1246) 1.0
• Girls U8
  • Wong, Allyson (unrated) 1.0
  • Yan Rui Yang (unrated) 2.0

N.B. All ratings above are FIDE.  I am tracking a pair of players (Hans Niemann and Joanna Liu) who have ties to the Bay Area chess community, but now live out of state.  If I omitted any other local kids playing in Greece, please contact me ASAP.

CalChess State Champs on Labor Day

The view of airplanes landing at SFO is sometimes breathtaking.

The annual CalChess State Championships, open to chess warriors of all ages, will be held this coming weekend at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame, south of SFO Airport.  Veterans will recall this event as the Labor Day Festival, which for many years took place on Van Ness Avenue in the City itself. In those days, Labor Day was the biggest adult tournament in the Bay Area.  While the Golden State Open in January now boasts a larger prize fund and turnout, winning on Labor Day weekend brings more prestige--state champions will be crowned in every section!

Last year saw a pair of Grandmasters, Ioan Cristian Chirila and Oliver Barbosa, share first place, with Chirila awarded the trophy.  The defending champion will be back in 2015!  The top challengers include local GM and author Jesse Kraai, visiting GM Giorgi Margvelashvili, at least three International Masters, and one high-rated math professor.  Of course, one or two surprise entries show up on-site each year.

Update: 223 players have already registered.  

• Event: CalChess State Championships
• Date: September 5-7 (3-day) or September 6-7 (2-day) 
  
• Location: San Francisco Airport Hyatt Regency in Burlingame (map here)
• Format: 6 round swiss in 6 sections (Open, Expert, A, B, C and D/E/Unrated).
• 3-day schedule: Reg: Sat 8-9:30. Rounds: Sat 10, 3:30; Sun 11, 5; Mon 10, 3:30.
• 2-day schedule: Reg: Sun 8-9, Rounds: Sun 9:30, 12, 2:30, 5; Mon 10, 3:30.
• Time control: 40/120 G/30 d/5; except rounds 1-3 of 2-day schedule at G/61 d/5.
• Entry fee: $154 includes late fee; $25 extra to play up.
• Prize fund: $20,000 based on 249 players, including $2,500 for 1st place in Open and between $1000 to $1500 for 1st place in each lower section.
• Tournament flyer
• Information page
• Advance entry list
• 2014 Results (266 players!!)

Traffic alert!  There will be no BART service from the East Bay to San Francisco for the entire weekend. Expect heavier than usual traffic on the bridges. More info at 511.org.

CalChess Champions Over the Years

Since the turn of the century, the CalChess State Scholastic Chess Championship (occasionally misnamed the Super States) has emerged as the single largest annual USCF rated tournament west of the Rocky Mountains, consistently drawing at least 800 eager young chess enthusiasts.  Indeed, the record turnout of 1319 in 2006 compares favorably to the National Championships each spring.  The first weekend of May saw the 40th edition of this Bay Area event.  Two emeritus organizers deserve the lion's share of credit for building up the event during the 1990s and early 2000s: Ray Orwig and Alan Kirshner.

Unfortunately, those 40 years of history are in danger of being forgotten.  Until recently, the champs were honored in the yearly program booklet and online.  Dr. Kirshner diligently compiled lists of individual and school team champions from 1986 to 2011, but the official record at the CalChess website ceases after 2012  Seeing a need, I extended the honor roll of scholastic champions through 2015.

• CalChess Scholastic State Champions (1986-present)

Curiosity drove me to analyze the ranks of individual champions more closely.  For example, Vinay Bhat won the High School division in four out of five consecutive years (1998-2002), but he sat out of the middle year (2000).  Another three masters captured a hat trick of K-12 titles: Andy McManus (1987-1990), Dmitry Zilberstein (1994-1997) and Cameron Wheeler (2013-2015).  Out of this esteemed foursome, only Cameron managed to win (or share first place) in three consecutive years!

Readers may have already mistakenly concluded that winning a scholastic title is easy pickings for a phenom destined to become Grandmaster (like Vinay) or International Master (like Dmitry).  Not true!  Sam Shankland, the strongest player to grow up in the Bay Area during the past three decades, was never crowned champ at the biggest kids tournament.  To his credit, Sam won the adult State Championship at just 16 years old!

To me, the real question was whether anyone achieved a career Grand Slam?  The four pillars of the Grand Prix are the Varsity or Open divisions in Primary, Elementary, Middle School and High School.  Both the K-5 and K-6 sections count for Elementary School.  All players tied for first place are considered co-champions (e.g. five K-5 winners in both 2008 and 2010). 

5-Time Champions

• Vinay Bhat K-3, K-12, K-12, K-12, K-12
• Neel Apte K-3, K-5, K-6, K-8, K-8 (needs K-12)
• Cameron Wheeler K-5, K-6, K-12, K-12, K-12

Since 1986, nobody collected more than five CalChess titles.  However, both Neel (11th grade) and Cameron (10th grade) could break that record next spring..

4-Time Champions

• Micah Fisher-Kirshner K-3, K-6, K-6, K-12 (missing K-8)
• Adam Lischinsky K-3, K-3, K-8, K-12 (missing K-6)
• Daniel Naroditsky K-3, K-6, K-12, K-12 (missing K-8)
• James Kwok K-3, K-6, K-8, K-8 (missing K-12)

Sadly, all of the quadruple champions have run out of eligibility.

3-Time Champions

• Andy McManus K-12, K-12, K-12
• Alan Stein K-8, K-12, K-12
• Dmitry Zilberstein K-12, K-12, K-12
• Keith Yost K-6, K-8, K-8
• Daniel Schwarz K-3, K-8, K-12 (missing K-6)
• Steven Zierk K-3, K-8, K-12 (missing K-6)
• Yian Liou K-3, K-6, K-12 (missing K-8)  
• Kyle Shin K-5, K-6, K-8
• Tanuj Vasudeva K-3, K-5, K-6

Kyle (11th grade) and Tanuj (9th grade) could still add a High School championship to their bulging trophy cases, although neither has played competitively for some time.

Therefore, the answer to my question is a disappointing no!  Interestingly, eight different juniors managed to score 75% of the Grand Slam (see green color).  And with a small dose of luck, Neel Apte could even complete the career Slam by winning the K-12 division next spring.

NorCal Top 20 Junior High + High School

Yian Liou will graduate next month.

Kesav Viswanadha playing at UT-B.

Top 20 JHS and High School

(Age 12-17)

1. IM Liou, Yian (17) 2501
2. IM Viswanadha, Kesav (15) 2386
3. FM Wheeler, Cameron (14) 2386



Vignesh Panchanatham won Denker
qualifier. (photo from WYCC 2014)

4. FM Panchanatham, Vignesh (15) 2365
5. NM Zhu, Jack Qijie (16) 2298
6. NM Richter, Paul (17) 2278
7. NM Chow, Colin (15) 2261
8. NM Banik, Siddharth G (14) 2255
9. NM Wang, Michael (13) 2249
10. FM Taghizadeh, Rayan (12) 2226
11. NM Virtanen, Teemu (15) 2218
12. NM Iyengar, Udit (15) 2215
13. NM Beilin, Allan (15) 2205
14. NM Zhao, Art (15) 2204
15. NM Nagarajan, Pranav (15) 2200
16. nm Jirasek, Ladia (14) 2196
17. Wang, Michael Lei (15) 2183   
18. Apte, Neel (16) 2180
19. nm Sun, Jerome (17) 2180
20. Tao, Jeffrey (14) 2169

Check out this table for rating changes over the past year and FIDE ratings. 
Generated from the USCF Top 100 lists.
Last updated using the April 2015 supplement.

NorCal Top 20 Elementary

NM Andrew Hong. By Chessdryad

nm Josiah Stearman. By Daily Cal

Top 20 Elementary

(Age 11 & Under)

1. NM Hong, Andrew Zhang (10) 2255
2. nm Stearman, Josiah Paul (11) 2100
3. Pan, David (11) 2087
4. Daggupati, Balaji (10) 2010
5. Feng, Justin (11) 1993   



CM Chinguun Bayaraa. By Chessdryad

6. CM Bayaraa, Chinguun (9) 1977
7. Susarla, Rishith (10) 1906
8. Maiti, Milind (9) 1899
9. Somalwar, Anaiy (10) 1887
10. Chang, Eliam Huai-Yang (11) 1874   
11. Palusa, Maurya (9) 1831
12. Peng, Andrew (9) 1831   
13. Mccarty-Snead, Callaghan (9) 1817
14. Zhao, Chenyi (11) 1815
15. Sartorio, William Jiarui (10) 1814
16. Ho, Stephen R (11) 1813   
17. Zhang, Jason Shuhe (11) 1810   
18. Pan, Kevin (9) 1807
19. WCM Garai, Antara (11) 1804
20. Yoo, Christopher Woojin (8) 1761   

Check out this table for rating changes over the past year and FIDE ratings. 
Generated from the USCF Top 100 lists.
Last updated using the April 2015 supplement.

FM Panchanatham Qualifies for Denker

Denker players (L to R): Jack, Colin, Vignesh, Teemu, Siddharth, Cameron,
Jordan Langland (TD), Pranav, Kesav and Tom Langland (TD).

The most heavily loaded Denker qualifier in CalChess history took place last weekend at Bay Area Chess headquarters in Milpitas.  Eight high school masters competed in a high class round-robin with an average USCF rating of  2296!  In a sign of the cutthroat competition, the top three seeds each scored a win and a loss in the head-to-head pairings.  However, the favorites finished undefeated against the other five participants, and the final standings depended on the number of draws allowed.

At the end of a long weekend, 15-year old FM Vignesh Panchanatham (2365) earned a trip to the Denker Invitational at the US Open in Phoenix.  IM Kesav Viswanadha (2386) and FM Cameron Wheeler (2386) took 2nd and 3rd places.  Vignesh beat Kesav in round 2, but lost to Cameron in round 6.  Alas, Cameron succumbed to Kesav in the finale.  Along the way, Vignesh surrendered just one draw, Kesav two, and Cameron three.   Click here for the Denker crosstable.

Denker Qualifier - Final Standings

Vignesh and Rayan at 2014 World Youth.

1. FM Vignesh Panchanatham (2365) 5.5
2. IM Kesav Viswanadha (2386) 5.0
3. FM Cameron Wheeler (2386) 4.5
4. NM Pranav Nagarajan (2200) 3.5
5. NM Siddharth Banik (2298) 3.0
6. NM Jack Zhu (2255) 3.0
7. NM Colin Chow (2261) 2.5
8. NM Teemu Virtanen (2218) 1.0

Two more qualifiers occurred alongside the Denker last weekend.  In another clutch victory for the #3 seed, 12-year old FM Rayan Taghizadeh (2226) scored 1.5-0.5 against his highest rated competitors to qualify for the Barber Invitational (restricted to K-8 players).  Click here for the Barber crosstable.  The National Girls Invitational qualifier followed a similar script, when 12-year old Simona Nayberg (1821) scored 1.5-0.5 against her top challengers.  Click here for the Girls crosstable.

Congratulations to Vignesh, Rayan and Simona for qualifying to represent Northern California in Phoenix during the first week of August.  These scholastic invitationals take place alongside the U.S. Open.   Best of luck in Arizona!!

Helicopter Parents at Scholastic Tournies

In the latest issue of CalChess Journal, President Tom Langland addresses the cultural phenomenon of helicopter parents at chess tournaments.  Indeed, any experienced coach or director can share their unique laundry list of nightmares involving overly affectionate parents.  Oxford Dictionaries define a helicopter parent as one "who takes an overprotective or excessive interest in the life of their child."  These parents frustrate coaches, drive directors nuts, and do no favor to the kids they adore!

For more news and information about chess in Northern California, please visit the CalChess website.  Membership is $5/year.  Join here. 

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"I see it all time, especially in chess tournaments. Parents who have extreme anxiety about separating from their child before their game starts are the chess equivalent of what is known as helicopter parents. Before a round starts, their child has to have all their pencils sharpened for them, tissues ready, their notation sheet filled out, drink bottle filled, snacks close at hand and that last minute hug (or two or three) before the round starts. Unfortunately, this causes trouble for the tournament directors who want to start the round on time. The TDs are stuck between upsetting parents who want to continue to cosset their child, and those parents, players and coaches who expect the tournament rounds to begin on time.

"I really do appreciate the problem a parent has with separating from their child and wanting to be comparable to a helicopter watching over them. Many times, I have been criticized that I don't know what it is like! Anyone who knows me understands I really do. In fact, that's how I ended up being most prolific National Tournament Director and International Arbiter in the US. When my sons started playing in like the second grade I remember being exactly like a helicopter. I would watch every move from afar, cringing every time they would hang their queen or miss a checkmate in one move. Finally at the State Grade Level Championship, I was driving my wife crazy and she suggested I volunteer to help direct to keep my mind busy. That's what got me here, and yes, I know exactly just how it feels to be a helicopter parent! It's tough!

"I've even seen helicopter parents vie against each other, like it’s a competition for who is the better parent. Two moms of opposing players aspire to be the last to leave their child. Which will get the final hug and a kiss in? All the while you can see the child hoping their parent would stop the fuss, go away and let them begin their game. Then we have the parents who have to peek in whenever the opportunity arises, holding the door open indefinitely to get that last glance in, hoping to get a glimpse of their child's position. I wish parents could see how distracting this is to all the participants. Every child has to look up to see if it is their parent peering at them, instead focusing on their game. I've even had a parent somehow observe their child forgetting to press their clock and insisted that I go over and remind the player to press their clock!
 
"Parents, the tournament staff do understand your desire to fuss over your child and to make them happy at the tournament. But please, remember the staff also wants to make the tournament a complete success and that includes starting the rounds on time and keeping distractions out of the room. Please be mindful of their requests and assist their efforts. Thank you!"

Thank YOU Tom! I could not have said it any better.

CalChess Young Masters

Kesav Viswanadha calculates.

Michael Wang concentrates.

The Bay Area has built the reputation for supporting the growth of  talented young chess stars.  Over a few short years, many of these juniors improve to Expert, Master and Beyond!  Incredibly, 11 now hold a USCF rating above 2200 on the October supplement.  Another 5 earned their National Master certificate previously, but have since dropped a few points.  That's a total of 16 CalChess young masters!  

To put these numbers in perspective, consider that zero masters played at the CalChess Scholastics in 2003, while 2006 was the first year to see more than two masters participate.

Top CalChess Juniors (rated above 2150 on October supplement)

1. IM-elect Yian Liou (age 17) 2502 USCF rating
2. FM Kesav Viswanadha (15) 2429
3. FM Cameron Wheeler (14) 2382



Josiah Stearman smiles on his birthday.

4. NM Vignesh Panchanatham (14) 2356
5. NM Colin Chow (14) 2282
6. NM Paul Richter (16) 2271
7. NM Michael Wang (12) 2240
8. NM Allan Beilin (15) 2221
9. NM Siddharth Banik (14) 2215
10. NM Rayan Taghizadeh (12) 2212
11. FM Tanuj Vasudeva (13) 2209
12. nm Josiah Stearman (11) 2185
13. Teemu Virtanen (15) 2184
14. Neel Apte (16) 2180
15. nm Jack Zhu (15) 2174
16. Ladia Jirasek (14) 2174
17. Pranav Nagarajan (14) 2172
18. nm Ashritha Eswaran (13) 2171
19. nm Daniel Liu (16) 2165
20. nm Udit Iyengar (14) 2165
21. Jerome Sun (17) 2165
22. Hunter Klotz-burwell (16) 2164
23. Joshua Cao (17) 2164
24. Kevin Moy (14) 2155

* nm = NM but currently rated under 2200

The top two players on this list both have a trio of IM norms to their credit.  Yian also achieved the required 2400 FIDE rating, while Kesav must pick up another 18 FIDE points.  We should have two new International Masters among our midst soon.

Watch out for Josiah!  The young lad spent the last month of summer on a quest for 2200.  He reached his goal in San Diego, peaking at 2215 before slipping back down.  Officially, Josiah gained 133 rating points in one month, from the August rating list to September (2066 to 2199)! 

Who will be next to make master?  Certainly anyone rated above 2150 could crack 2200 after one or two good weekends.  In addition, a pair of even younger stars, Hans Niemann (11) and Andrew Hong (9), already sport competitive ratings above 2100.

NorCal Top 100 Lists

Do you recognize these young stars?  All are now masters, and two
won at World Youth U12. Photo from Cam's Chess Blog in 2010.

Almost two years have passed since I completed the last thorough analysis of the Bay Area's representatives on the USCF Top 100 Lists.  The USCF office made two administrative changes: publishing the rankings monthly and moving the cutoff date to the third Wednesday of the previous month (from the first Friday).  Consequently, the player ratings will be more current.

Congratulations to the 119 local youngsters who earned a spot on the national Top 100 rankings for their age.  The most competitive categories appear to be Age 8 and Age 13-14.  At least a dozen Northern California juniors are ranked in Top 100 for each of those three years, including 5 or more in the Top 20!  Many of the same kids represented California and the USA at the World Youth Chess Festival in the United Arab Emirates last December.  Veteran Bay Area players and directors watched the 13-14 year old bunch grow up, and now a new bunch of promising talents has formed. 

Given the explosion in strength of local youths, I began tracking their FIDE ratings.  Indeed, 53 ranked juniors already have earned an official international rating!  Only a decade ago, no more than a half dozen players under age 18 had achieved this goal.  Many thanks to John Donaldson, Richard Koepcke, Salman Azhar, Arun Sharma and other organizers for offering plentiful opportunities to play FIDE rated tournaments without traveling far.

Without further ado, I present the cream of the crop, the best of the west, to earn virtual gold, silver and bronze medals!  Please visit my website for the complete NorCal Top 100 Lists.

Gold Medal (Top 5)

• Ashritha Eswaran #1 girls U16  
• Yian Liou #1 age 16 
• Daniel Naroditsky #1 age 18



NM Kesav Viswanadha

• Balaji Daggupati #3 age 8
• Josiah Stearman #3 age 10
• Cameron Wheeler #3 age 13 
• Gregory Young #3 age 18
• Andrew Hong #4 age 9
• Kesav Viswanadha #4 age 14
• Hans Niemann #5 age 10
• Rayan Taghizadeh #5 age 11
• Michael Wang #5 age 12
• Joanna Liu #5 girls U13
• Vignesh Panchanatham #5 age 14

Silver Medal (6th to 15th)

• Arnav Lingannagari age 6
• Samik Pattanayak age 6
• Milind Maiti age 8
• Chinguun Bayaraa age 8
• Callaghan Mccarty-Snead age 8



NM Michael Wang

• Andrew Peng age 8
• Tanuj Vasudeva age 12
• Siddharth Banik age 13
• Colin Chow age 14
• Allan Beilin age 14

Bronze Medal (16th to 25th)

• Kevin Pan age 7
• Rishith Susarla age 8
• Maurya Palusa age 8
• David Pan age 10
• Udit Iyengar age 13
• Kevin Moy age 13
• Pranav Nagarajan age 14
• Teemu Virtanen age 14
• Neel Apte age 15
• Daniel Liu age 16

List adapted from Fpawn Chess
Photo credit Bay Area International

NorCal Top Juniors - March 2014

FM Yian Liou

FM Cameron Wheeler

In anticipation of the upcoming National and State Championships, I completed the long-overdue update of my NorCal rankings for the best juniors and adults.  This post recognizes the Top 10 highest rated youngsters, both by USCF and FIDE (international) rankings.  Please follow this link for a more extensive listing, including the Top 20 players per category.

The explosion of talented juniors living in the Bay Area continues.  No fewer than ten chess kids 14 years old or younger can call themselves "master" today!  Three more teens currently find themselves within 20 points of the 2200 threshold, and another two reached the magic number but have since fallen below.  By my count, there are 39 experts and masters under age 18 who push pawns and sacrifice knights in Northern California.  Amazing!

NorCal Top 10 Age 12-17

1. FM Liou, Yian (age 16) 2475 USCF
2. FM Wheeler, Cameron (13) 2345
3. NM Viswanadha, Kesav (14) 2334
4. NM Panchanatham, Vignesh (14) 2325
5. NM Banik, Siddharth G (13) 2247
6. NM Eswaran, Ashritha (13) 2231
7. NM Chow, Colin (14) 2224
8. NM Beilin, Allan (14) 2219
9. NM Iyengar, Udit (13) 2218
10. NM Wang, Michael (12) 2215

NorCal Top 10 Age 11 & Under

Rayan Taghizadeh

1. nm Taghizadeh, Rayan (age 11) 2181 USCF
2. Stearman, Josiah Paul (10) 2102
3. Niemann, Hans Moke (10) 2054
4. Liu, Joanna (11) 2006
5. Hong, Andrew Zhang (9) 1977
6. Daggupati, Balaji (8) 1919
7. Pan, David (10) 1862
8. Murugappan, Ganesh M (11) 1855
9. Zhou, Anthony (11) 1853
10. Feng, Justin (10) 1830

NorCal Top 10 FIDE Rated Age 17 & Under

1. FM Liou, Yian (age 16) 2387 FIDE 
2. FM Wheeler, Cameron (13) 2229
3. NM Viswanadha, Kesav (14) 2194
4. NM Panchanatham, Vignesh (14) 2121
5. NM Beilin, Allan (14) 2096
6. Apte, Neel (15) 2095
7. nm Liu, Daniel (16) 2091
8. NM Chow, Colin (14) 2082
9. Li, Edward (16) 2077
10. NM Wang, Michael (12) 2062

List adapted from Fpawn Chess
Photo credit Bay Area International 

Eswaran To Play in US Women's Champ

Ashritha posing with Garry Kasparov at Girls Nationals.

Here is great news from Ted Castro of NorCal House of Chess.

Congratulations to my student Ashritha Eswaran for being invited at the US Women's Championship (most prestigious chess tournament in the US) to be held at the world famous St. Louis Chess Club in May. She's presently the #1 ranked Girl U16 in the country and is newly minted National Master! Thanks to our team of coaches and very supportive parents!

In addition to earning the NM title and #1 national ranking, Ashritha ranks as the top woman in Northern California and Top 20 in the country.  Although lowest rated in the Women's Champ, the 13 year old appears poised to score a few upsets.  Go get 'em!

NorCal Top 5 Women - March 2014

1. NM Eswaran, Ashritha 2231 USCF 1982 FIDE
2. NM Tsodikova, Natalya 2226 2135
3. WFM Byambaa, Uyanga 2136 2050
4. Liu, Joanna 2006 1756
5. Mccreary, Taylor 1998 1876

List adapted from Fpawn Chess. 

NorCal Top Adults - March 2014

GM Sam Shankland

GM Daniel Naroditsky

A quintet of Grandmasters headlines the list of active chess masters in Northern California.  The top rated pair, Sam Shankland and Daniel Naroditsky, will proudly represent the Bay Area at the 2014 US Championship in St. Louis beginning on May 8.  Can Shanky or Danya join the local veterans Walter Browne (6-time winner) and Nick De Firmian (3-time winner) as national champions?  Good luck guys!

NorCal Top 20 Adults - March 2014

1. GM Shankland, Sam 2698 USCF 2611 FIDE
2. GM Naroditsky, Daniel A 2632 2543 
3. GM De Firmian, Nick E 2582 2509 
4. GM Kraai, Jesse 2574 2518 
5. IM De Guzman, Ricardo 2487 2406 
6. IM Li, Wen Liang 2481 2429 
7. FM De La Cruz, Alfredo 2480 2336 
8. SM Sharma, Arun 2478 2398 
9. FM Liou, Yian 2475 2387 
10. GM Browne, Walter 2474 2444 
11. IM Mezentsev, Vladimir 2432 2356 
12. IM Donaldson, William John 2413 2390 
13. IM Pruess, David 2407 2347 
14. IM Kaufman, Ray 2401 2332 
15. FM Silber, Henning 2378 2267 
16. NM Ishkhanov, Tigran 2369 2298 
17. NM Manvelyan, Hayk 2354 2265 
18. FM Wheeler, Cameron 2345 2229 
19. IM Ganbold, Odondo 2338 2327 
20. NM Viswanadha, Kesav 2334 2194 

List adapted from Fpawn Chess
Photo credit Bay Area International 

38th CalChess Scholastics Winners

Main playing hall at the Santa Clara Convention Center.  Photos by Azleena Azhar.

Around 1000 Bay Area youngsters descended on the Santa Clara Convention Center for the 38th annual CalChess State Scholastic Championships.  Participants ranged from novices attending their first serious chess tournament to a co-champion of the World Youth U12.  Many wide-eyed kids were accompanied by equally bewildered parents.  This turnout proves that scholastic chess still thrives in California!

K-12 Champ FM Cameron Wheeler

Twenty juniors rated 2000+ entered the FIDE-rated High School Championship, which this year seemed more like a local Open section (except without IM DeGuzman).  Indeed, one-third of the players, including the three masters at the top, had not yet begun high school.  Paradoxically, only three high school students sat at the first half-dozen boards in the last round.  And surprising few, the 2291-rated 7th grader FM Cameron Wheeler from Cupertino swept the field.  No doubt he faced a stiffer challenge at the World Youth U12 in Slovenia last year.  The next two in the final standings were his friends Kesav Viswanadha and Vignesh Panchanatham, both also in Middle School, and National Masters too.

Only a pair of High School students went undefeated (each yielded two draws) in the 5-round tournament: sophomore Taylor McCreary of San Luis Obispo and freshman Hunter Klotz-burwell of Palo Alto.  Taylor, underrated at 1872, earned respect and rating by beating 1960 and 2050 plus drawing with two even higher experts. However, she technically lives in Southern California, and consequently Hunter, rated 2083, qualified for the prestigious Denker Tournament of High School Champions in Wisconsin this summer.  Fair travels and good luck!

Denker rep Hunter Klotz-burwell

Bravo to all of the winners!  The following State Champions were crowned.  Click here for full Individual Results and Team Results, including the 11 Junior Varsity, Booster and Rookie sections.  Trivia: A whopping 109 children turned out to play in the 1-3 Rookie (unrated) division, the largest of the weekend.  Can you say Scholar's Mate?

K-12 Championship

• Champion: FM Cameron Wheeler with 5-0
• Runners-up: NM Kesav Viswanadha, NM Vignesh Panchanatham, Taylor McCreary, Siddharth Banik, Allan Beilin and Hunter Klotz-burwell all with 4-1
• Denker Qualifier: Hunter Klotz-burwell
• Top Team: Kennedy Middle (Cameron, Kesav, etc)

6-8 Championship

• Champion: Steven Li with 5.5-0.5
• Runner-up: Anirudh Seela with 5-1
• Top Team: Hopkins Junior High (all MSJE graduates)

4-6 Championship

• Champions: Bryce Wong, Seaver Dahlgren and Daniel Hwan all with 5-1
• Top Team: Mission San Jose Elementary

4-5 Championship

• Champion: Dante Peterson with 5.5-0.5
• Runners-up: Pranav Senthilkumar, David Pan, Daniel Mendelevitch and Amir Dhami all with 5-1
• Top Team: Mission San Jose Elementary

1-3 Championship

• Champion: Callaghan McCarty-snead with 5.5-0.5
• Runner-up: Robert Reyes with 5-1
• Top Team: Mission San Jose Elementary

Kindergarten

• Champion: William Chui with 5-0
• Runners-up: Samit Pattanayak and Arnav Lingannagari with 4.5-0.5

MSJE K-6 Champions with Coach Joe Lonsdale

MSJE K-3 Champions

Seemingly every year, Mission San Jose Elementary earns praise from this blog.  What have they done this spring?  Three weeks ago, they won SuperNationals K-6 and finished Top 5 in two other sections.  Then last weekend, the Giants of chess crushed the local competition, taking on all those who dared and easily winning all three CalChess Elementary team championships, two Junior Varsity divisions, and one Booster.  Coach Joe Lonsdale, his experienced staff, and private coaches (e.g. Ted Castro, Chris Torres, Wei Liu and the veteran magician Richard Shorman) have molded quite a dynasty over the years!  Frankly, I am always amazed how they can teach a 6 or 7 year old how the pieces move in September, by April they are rated 600 and by the second year they have crossed 1000. Well done!!

The influence of MSJE extends far beyond 6th grade.  The CalChess Middle School champion team at Hopkins Junior High consists of alumni of this great chess program.  And by the time they reach High School, the former students return to teach the youngsters, sharing their wisdom from over the years.  However, even the dominance of MSJE has limits.  In the K-12 Open, the all-star lineup of Kennedy Middle, featuring two masters and two experts, predictably steamrolled the field.  Veni! Vidi! Vici!

A special thank you goes to Organizer Salman Azhar of BayAreaChess.com for putting in literally hundreds of hours to prepare for the CalChess Scholastics.  Nothing ever goes off perfectly, but by many accounts, the 2013 edition proceeded quite smoothly.  Of course, a lot of credit goes to Chief Tournament Director and NTD Tom Langland (also CalChess President), his computer guru NTD John McCumiskey, plus the entire staff of directors and volunteers.  All I can say personally, is that I wish I could have been there. :-)

CalChess Bear

• Tournament Website
• Individual Results 
• Team Results
• USCF Rating Report (not yet available)
• Photo Album by Richard Shorman (171 pics) -- also on ChessDryad
• Photo Album #1 by Azleena Azhar (212 pics)
• Photo Album #2 by Azleena Azhar (154 pics)