Ashritha Eswaran Wins US Junior Girls

Ashritha the Champion!

Bay Area 14-year old Ashritha Eswaran won the US Junior Girls invitational with a score of 6.5 out of 9, finishing a full point ahead of her nearest competitor.  Sponsors Frank and Jim Berry brought ten of the country's best young ladies to Tulsa, Oklahoma.  There were seven USCF masters and eight held an international title, including a pair of Women's International Masters.  All participants were ranked in the Top 30 of the country for women, regardless of age!

On the other hand, the round-robin was tightly packed, with less than 150 rating points separating top from bottom.  There were no favorites.  Anyone could beat anyone else.  Indeed, each girl lost at least twice, and Ashritha was the only one not to drop three games!  Perhaps it still came as a surprise that the lowest rated finished on top of the hill.  (USCF rating report)

Congratulations to Ashritha, her parents, her dedicated coach GM Dejan Bojkov and the entire staff at NorCal House of Chess!  In addition to the national title, she earned an invitation to the 2016 US Women's Championship.  Readers may recall that she played in the 2014 Women's Champ, impressing spectators with her mature and aggressive play.

More information and photos in this article at Kasparov Chess Foundation website.

Most people would relax after such an achievement.  Alas, Ashritha flew to Colombia the very next day, where she entered the Pan American Youth Festival.  She already won the first three rounds while playing up in the competitive Girls-U18 division.  Good luck!!

In related news, the US Junior Closed (for boys) kicks off next Tuesday in Saint Louis.  The Bay Area will once again be represented by IM Yian Liou, who graduated two weeks ago from Monte Vista High School in Danville. 

FIDE Master Tanuj Vasudeva, Youngest in USA!

Here is a kid who trots around the world with his father, having discovered the fountain of youth at the chessboard. He brought home medallions of gold and silver from his conquests in far away lands such as Argentina and Turkey. At home, he has become a veteran of adult tournaments, playing in them since his sixth birthday. While playing, he is a wizard who may checkmate before you know what hit you! His infectious smile brightens any room that he enters, earning attention from 500s and 2500s alike. He was ranked #1 in the nation for age 7 and currently checks in at #2 for age 8. Now he is #1 in the Americas and #2 in the World, both under age 8.

To those of us who know him well, his name is simply Tanuj. To everyone else, his name now comes with a set of initials: FM Tanuj Vasudeva. As in FIDE Master, a lifetime title in the World Chess Federation. By winning the Pan American Championship Under 8 in Argentina this summer, he automatically became the youngest FM in USCF history and currently the youngest in the world. Not skipping a beat, Tanuj followed up 9-0 at the Pan Am with an even more impressive silver medal at the World Youth Under 8 in Turkey. Thanks to his father Tarun for the photos from Turkey at left and right. Tanuj became the Bay Area's third medalist in as many years at World Youth, behind FM Danya Naroditsky (gold in Under 12 in 2007) and IM Sam Shankland (bronze in Under 18 in 2008).

• Name: Tanuj Vasudeva
• Title: FIDE Master
• Age: 8 years old
  
• Current ratings: 1913 USCF, unrated FIDE
  
• National ranking: #2 for age 8
  
• CalChess ranking: #4 for age U12
  
• First tournament: October 2006 (at barely 5 years old!)
  
• First established rating: 751 in January 2007
• First adult tournament: July 2007
  
• Last 12 months: gained 293 points in 108 rated games at 28 USCF tournaments
• Recent successes: Scored 9.0/9 (gold!) at Pan American Under 8 in Argentina (Aug 2009) and 8.5/11 (silver!) at World Youth Under 8 in Turkey (Nov 2009).
  
• Biggest scalps: NM Arthur Wang (Feb 2009) and 2175-rated Marek Jankowski (July 2009)
• Website/Blog: http://tanujchess.blogspot.com plus Photo Gallery
• Chess Life for Kids: Cover story "Mr. Perfect" (October 2009)
  
• In The News: NBC Bay Area (Nov 30, 2009)

Tanuj joins a rich tradition of young masters in the San Francisco Bay Area, dating back to 1995 when 10 year olds Jordy Mont-Reynaud and Vinay Bhat both broke the USCF's youngest master record in short succession. A year and a half ago, Nicholas Nip lowered the mark even further, cracking 2200 a month before his 10th birthday! At 8 1/2 years old, Tanuj has a shot at this hallowed record too. However, it seems likely that another talented Bay Area kid, Samuel Sevian, about half a year older and already rated 2123, might get there first! Stay tuned! Best of luck to Tanuj, Samuel and all of the other kids who aim for the stars.

For a sample of Tanuj's playing style, check out this ruthless attacking game from the final round of the World Youth. His opponent is Hamzah Amier of Malaysia.

Play chess online

Tanuj Captures Gold at Pan Am Under 8!

South America, you've just been Tanuj'ed! With the final round yet to be played tomorrow, Bay Area star Tanuj Vasudeva (1902 USCF) already clinched the gold medal for U-8 at the 20th Campeonato Panamericano de Ajedrez. After winning his first eight rounds, the only remaining question is whether he can complete a perfect 9-0 sweep. Even more impressively, several of his games have been miniatures (under 25 moves). Kudos to Tanuj on winning your first international tournament!

Update on Friday morning: Tanuj finished with an impressive 9-0 sweep!

(The photo at left from the official website shows our young hero practicing the classical Sicilian against an unidentified victim.)

For first-hand insight on this adventure to Mar Del Plata, Argentina (see photo of the beach at right) and the experience of playing chess in another country, check out the blogs by Tanuj and Girls U-10 gold medalist Simone Liao (1847 USCF) from Southern California. While the parents help out with the blog, they try to report from the perspective of their child.

The final round takes place on Friday morning, with the awards ceremony to follow. In addition to Tanuj and Simone, the 23 member American delegation has good chances to pick up more medals in Girls-8, Boys-10, Boys-12, Boys-14, Boys-16 and Girls-18.

Tanuj Juega en Mar Del Plata

CalChess star Tanuj Vasudeva traveled to Argentina to compete in the Pan American Youth Chess Festival. As the highest rated 7-year old (now age 8) earlier this year, he earned the right to represent the USA in Mar Del Plata. He faces some elite kids age 7 and 8 from throughout South America plus Mexico. Undoubtedly, none of the Latin American kids have the vast experience that Tanuj amassed over the past two years in Bay Area events!

So far, so good! Tanuj won his first three rounds, including today's showdown against a 1966 FIDE rated player from Colombia. Only two have 3-0, and Tanuj is paired versus a Mexican kid in a battle for the early lead. Go Tanuj!!

There are 23 kids in the American delegation, accompanied by their parents and four coaches. Other notable participants include Tommy He (3-0), Jarod Pamatmat, Arthur Shen (3-0), Victor Shen, Vincent Huang (3-0), Simone Liao, Alisa Melekhina and Courtney Jamison.

• Official website
• Chess Results website
  
• NEW!!! Tanuj Vasudeva's chess blog and Twitter page
  
• Simone Liao's chess blog (from Southern California)
• Reports on Chess Life Online: First, Second

Update on Wednesday afternoon: After three more wins against the top competition, Tanuj has 6-0 and a 1.5 point lead on the field. Thanks to awesome tiebreaks, he mathematically clinches the gold medal with 1.5 in the last three rounds.

Stanford Ties for Third at Pan Ams

(Stanford chess team from left to right: NM Daniel Schwarz, FM Elliott Liu, Christopher De Sa, NM Vaishnav Aradhyula. Photo taken by WIM Alexey Root of UTD.)

Congratulations to the Stanford University chess team for finishing tied for third place at the Pan American Intercollegiate Championship in Dallas on December 27-30. The team of FM Elliott Liu (2406), NM Daniel Schwarz (2321), NM Vaishnav Aradhyula (2207) and Christopher De Sa (2155) faced stiff competition against 2500+ average teams from the two scholarship powers of University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC). UTD won on tiebreaks over UMBC, both with 5.0/6; Stanford finished at 4.5. Other master strength teams in attendance included New York University, Harvard, University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) and University of Toronto.

As a reward for placing in the top four, Stanford was invited to participate in the Final Four of college chess on April 4-5, once again in Dallas. The Cardinal will face UTD, UMBC and UTB in a round-robin for the most prestigious prize in college chess. This will be a huge challenge as UTD fields a GM and a whopping 7 IMs while UMBC has three GMs plus a WGM. Goooo Stanford!

Please read the story on Chess Life Online for more details about the Pan Am.