2025 Archive

Chess News Wire -- August 2025

• Connecticut girls are on a hot streak, internationally. Connecticut's Girls Champion Lilianna Gao (below) won the U14 Girls crown at the 2025 North American Youth Championship in Kingston, Canada August 18-23. Additionally, Connecticut's top female player NM Jasmine Su won the U18 Girls crown in the same event. (8/25)
  
  
  Lilianna Gao at the 2025 North American Youth
  Championship in Canada.
  
  
• Newington's Praharsh Varada (center in blue) wins NBCC 2025 Summer Open, held August 24 at Wickham Park in Manchester. 70 players took part in the event. (8/25)
  
  
  NBCC Summer Open 2025 winners' row with event TDs.
  
  
• IA and NTD Alex Relyea, who recently moved from New Hampshire to Bloomfield, Connecticut, passed away this Saturday in West Hartford after long-term illness. Alex will be remembered as one of the few independent New England-wide and National organizers, organizing and directing events in Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and nationally. Alex is survived by his wife, Nita Patel, who is also a Senior Tournament Director. (8/19)
  
  
• Semyon Rayz won the Chess & Art Tournament, held August 16 at Parkville Market (Hartford). Rayz finished second in the Open Arena, winning five games and scoring 14 points, but was overtaken by Benjamin Usadi, who used Berserk and Streak bonuses to score 18 points on four wins. The two then played a final match on the giant chess board prepared by Artist Ashley Innocent, also known as Ashley the Creator, and Rayz outlasted Usadi to claim the event title and the custom artwork first place trophy. (8/17)
  
  
  Semyon Rayz (white vest) playing Benjamin Usadi on the
  Artist's Board at the 2025 Chess & Art event at the Parkville
  Market in Hartford.
  
  
• NM Jasmine Su achieved direct WIM title at the Pan American Youth Championships in Lima, Peru, held July 27 to August 3. Jasmine won gold at the event with 8.0/9 score in the Under-18 Girls division. (8/7)
  
  
• NM Nathaniel Moor finished 15th at the 2025 U.S. Open, scoring 7.0/9, including a win in Round 3 over eventual second place winner, GM Daniel Naroditskiy, and a loss in the penultimate 8th Round to the eventual Champion, GM Dariusz Swiercz. Nate's performance was not only the top Connecticut result, but the top result for all non-FIDE-titled players. The 2025 U.S. Open was held July 28 to August 3 in Middleton, Wisconsin and included 514 participants, its largest attendance since 2021. Connecticut was also represented by NM Brian Weisz and James Weisz. See final standings from the 2025 U.S. Open. (8/3)
  
  
  NM Nathaniel Moor (right) facing 2025 US Open
  Champion GM Dariusz Swiercz in Round 8.
  Photo courtesy David Llada
  
  
• The US Chess Annual Meeting was held today in Middleton, Wisconsin. Updates include movement of the rating system to a third-party service provider, extensive budget and event shortfalls, and Alaska's second new State Chapter in six years. See complete report from our Facebook page. (8/2)
  
  

Chess News Wire -- July 2025

• Team Connecticut at 2025 National Invitationals: Lilianna Gao, who represented Connecticut in the Haring Girls Invitational for the second straight year, led all Connecticut players with 4.0/6 and Connecticut's best 2025 Invitational placement, finishing in 11th place in her event. NM Mikhail Koganov and Lacey Wang scored 3.5/6 in the Irwin Senior and Barber Grades 6-8 Invitationals, respectively. Also representing Connecticut were Cody Wu, who scored 2.5/6 in the Rockefeller K-5 Invitational, and Jason Bai, who scored 0.5/6 in the Denker High School Invitational. The 2025 Connecticut team score--a combined score from all state representatives--was 14.0/30, putting Connecticut in 30th place out of 53 delegations. (7/31)
  
  
  Left to right: Jason Bai, Lacey Wang, Lilianna Gao,
  Cody Wu and NM Mikhail Koganov at the 2025 National
  Invitationals in Middleton, Wisconsin.
  
  
• Massachusetts' GM Jianchao Zhou won the 2025 CCA Bradley Open, scoring a perfect 5.0/5 in the Major section of the event. Mark Wilkin finished tied for first in the U2100 section for Connecticut's top result, scoring 4.5/5. Connecticut's Alexie Petrov won the U1500 section also scoring 4.5/5. NM Jordan Groff had the best Connecticut finish in the Major section with 3.5/5. Review the complete results here. A total of 239 players participated, of whom 81 were from the host state. (7/27)
  
  
• Connecticut's NM Jasmine Su is back at St. Louis Chess Club for the 2025 U.S. Girls Junior Championship. (photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller, SLCC) (7/20)
  
  
  
  
  
• Due to unforeseen circumstances, the July 19 Meeting of the CSCA Summer Club is postponed. A new date will be determined next week, and applicable refunds issued. Apologies to our players for the unexpected change. (7/18)
  
  
• CSCA unveils the inaugural 2025-26 cycle year Connecticut Grand Prix (CTGP) with $2,500 ($1,000-500-400-300-200-100) in prizes. The competition period is from September 1 to August 31. Organizers are invited to review CTGP rules and terms and submit their events for inclusion. The 2025 Fairfield County & Norwalk City Championships on September 6 and the Connecticut Open on September 20 will be the first two CTGP events with 20 and 60 enhanced CTGP points, respectively. Players should review the CTGP rules for point eligibility. Questions about the CTGP may be directed to the CSCA at events.CSCA@gmail.com. (7/18)
  
  
• On July 12, 2025, FM Zachary Tanenbaum won the 2025 Connecticut Summer Classical, held simultaneously at the e4 Chess Academy and Norwalk Public Library. Zach edged out Corin Gartenlaub of New York on tie breaks, after both finished 3.5/4. Gilad Drillich of New Jersey captured the Top U2200 prize. Vedanta Bhargava was first in the U2000 section, after edging out Matt Chen on tie breaks. Aaron Piao won the U1400 with a perfect 4.0/4. Aayush Negi won the New England section. And Bhanutej Gottam won his first title in the U800 section after besting Tarushi Panda in an Armageddon tie break playoff. 101 players participated in the event, setting Connecticut and New England records for a summer tournament event. [See full story with standings and rating reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (7/14)
  
  
  58 players took part in Round 4 of the Summer Classical,
  setting an attendance record for the e4 Chess Academy.
  
  
• FIDE adopted US Chess 1-year ban against 18-year-old US GM Christopher Yoo and also added a 5-year international probation for the physical assault of broadcast staff at the 2024 U.S. Championship in St. Louis. (7/1)
  
  

Chess News Wire -- June 2025

• Connecticut’s Lilianna Gao won third place at the 2025 Polgar Girls Invitational, held at Webster University, St. Louis, June 23- 24! Lilianna scored 5.0/6, defeating three WCMs on her way to a four-year scholarship to Webster University and $1,450 in cash prizes. Lilianna’s younger sister, Isabella Gao also took part and finished 35th of 62 on a score of 3.0/6. Congratulations to the Gao sisters for their strong representation of our state in this annual national tradition! (6/27)
  
  
  Lilianna Gao (center) at the Polgar Invitational Awards
  Ceremony.
  
  
• GM Vladimir Kramnik sues Chess.com and GM David Navara for defamation, following Navara's written response to Kramnik's cheating accusations, which are supported by Kramnik's own statistical analysis. (6/25)
  
  
• CSCA introduces Summer Chess Club, which will meet at the East Hartford Library on June 28, July 19, August 2 and August 9, with low participation fees and various activities, including G/90 classical and speed chess. See club flyer. (6/10)
  
  
• 56 play in the New Britain Chess Club's Planet Earth Championship. Will Johnson was the only player to survive the 30-player Open section unscathed, finishing 3.0/3 and this year's event champion. Meanwhile, Ben Adelstein won the U1600 and Max Mashkov the Scholastic. (6/7)
  
  

Chess News Wire -- May 2025

• On May 9, former CSCA President Frederick S. Townsend, Jr. (1936-2025) passed away. Mr. Townsend was President and Chief Organizer at the Connecticut State Chess Association for many years in several decades, last serving as Board member in 2021. He was also the Vice President of the US Chess Federation in the 1970s, involved in the negotiations of the never to be Fischer v. Karpov World Championship Match. Mr. Townsend remains Connecticut's only US Chess Officer and National Tournament Director. Mr. Townsend was inducted into the Connecticut Chess Hall of Fame in 2024. (5/30)
  
  
• US Chess Director of Events Boyd Reed resigned just days after SuperNationals VIII, the latest US Chess scholastic tournament to fall short of expectations. Assistant Director Pete Karagianis was promoted to the position. (5/30)
  
  
• GM Sergey Kudrin won the 2025 West Haven Open with a perfect 4.0/4 score. Mark Krechet won the U1300, also with a score of 4.0/4, and Gregory Chin won the U800 on tie breaks after tying at 3.0/4 with David Brown and Riday Sing Saundh. A total of 31 players participated in this event on short notice at the behest of the West Haven Library. The event also drew five Masters, to possibly set the record for the strongest local event in Connecticut history. [See full story with standings and rating reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (5/25)
  
  
  Round 3 at the 2025 West Haven Open.
  
  
• GM Maxim Dlugy (front left) bested defending Champion FM Zachary Tanenbaum (front right) in the fourth Round to win the 2025 Connecticut Hall of Fame Action Championship. Dlugy put on a dominant performance with a perfect 4.0/4 score, facing three of Connecticut's top young stars and past champions: NM Jasmine Su, Max Ingargiola and NM Nathaniel Moor ahead of the final round showdown with Tanenbaum. Meanwhile, Arush Ghosh won the U1900 section with 3.5/4. Arthur Beyer, Jr. won the U1200 with 4.0/4, and Daniel Rojas won the NER section also with 4.0/4. [See full story with standings and rating reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (5/21)
  
  
  GM Maxim Dlugy (left) facing NM Zachary Tanenbaum
  at the 2025 Action Championship.
  
  
• CSCA inducted the Connecticut Chess Hall of Fame Class of 2025: GM Nicholas de Checa, NM Michael Casella, NM Gary Shure and Melvin Patrick (posthumously) at the 2025 Connecticut Hall of Fame Action Championship on May 18 at Sacred Heart University. [See full story with induction list on the CSCA Facebook Page] (5/19)
  
  
  NM Gary Shure (left) receiving his induction plaque
  from CSCA President Alexander Lumelsky.
  
  
• CSCA honored the 2024 Contributors to the Connecticut Chess Community with the annual plaque presentation at the 2025 Hall of Fame Action Championship. Recipients included FM Zachary Tanenbaum (Player of the Year), NM Jasmine Su (Female Player of the Year), NM Mikhail Koganov (Senior Player of the Year), GM Maxim Dlugy (Coach of the Year and on behalf of Chess Max Academy, as Organizer of the 2024 Tournament of the Year, the A|Priori Bughouse Championship). [See full story with awards list on the CSCA Facebook Page] (5/19)
  
  
  2022 Women's Champion and West Haven Library
  Program Instructor Dharani Sree Ravi receiving her
  Coach of the Year award.
  
  
• CSCA unveils the Connecticut State Chess Hall of Fame, for now housed on the CSCA website. CSCA welcomes the entire community to submit stories, anecdotes, games, photos, etc. about our Inductees to the CSCA at chess.CSCA@gmail.com. The Hall is a living record of our Chess Greats! Help us maintain a complete, accurate and interesting record, to which all of Connecticut chess can look to proudly for history and inspiration. Thank you to CSCA Historian Bob Cyr, Webmaster Gert Hilhorst, and former CSCA Presidents Frederick Townsend and Rob Roy for their contributions and efforts on collecting and producing our Hall of Fame. (5/17)
  
  
• CSCA's 2025 Hall of Fame event becomes the second strongest tournament in CSCA history with at least 14 titled players participating, setting a Connecticut non-State Championship event record. (5/14)
  
  
• Kushagra Bhargava finished tied for sixth in Blitz at SuperNationals VIII in Orlando for Connecticut’s best finish in the competition. Congratulations to one of our most devoted scholastic players! (5/14)
  
  
• US Chess's 2025 SuperNationals VIII finished 1,100 players short of the 2017 mark, its previous installment. Expectations were for a 500-1,500 gain in attendance. Substantially higher entry fees may have been a factor, as registration slowed to a crawl in the final three or more weeks ahead of the event, once entry exceeded $200. (5/13)
  
  
• Ratings dominated at the 2025 Connecticut Grade Championships on May 10 at Manchester High School. The event drew 94 players in its northern Connecticut debut. [See full story with awards list and photos on the CSCA Facebook Page](5/12)
  
  
  Manchester High School hosts the 2025 Connecticut Grade Championships.
  
  
• Taliban in Afghanistan bans chess as a form of gambling, which is against the Muslim faith. (5/11)
  
  
• "Chess Roads" at La Versiliana in Pietrasanta, Italy, will host a premier match of GM Vishy Anand, the Great Indian World Champion, against IM Faustino Oro, the 11-year-old Argentine Phenom. (5/9)
  
  
• e4 Academy Classical last weekend drew 20 players for a two-day Game 60 event. Alex Emmons won first, followed by Omkar Maralapanavar and Luis Baez. Club owner NM Arslan Otchiyev played but was prize ineligible. [See full story with rating report on the CSCA Facebook Page] (5/2)
  
  

Chess News Wire -- April 2025

• The 2025 Connecticut Scholastic Championships, held at Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, were marked by great upsets and dominant performances. In the end, the 2025 Champions were HS Champion and Denker Nominee Jason Bai, MS Champion and Barber Nominee Lacey Wang, ES Champion and Rockefeller Nominee Cody Wu, PS Champion Rylan Chang and pK-1 Champion Ethan Ing. [See full story with standings and reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (4/27)
  
  
  Amity Regional High School hosts the 2025 Connecticut Scholastic Championships.
  
  
• GM Ju Wenjun of China dominantly defended her World Women's Champion title, her fifth, defeating GM Tan Zhongyi also of China and becoming the greatest Women's Player all-time. (4/16)
  
  
  World Women's Champion GM Ju Wenjun with the 2025
  World Champion trophy. Photo courtesy of FIDE
  
  
• Sacred Heart dominated the Collegiate Championships for the second straight year. Although the 2025 Connecticut Collegiate was replaced by the 2025 New England Collegiate Championships, it had no effect on the Sacred Heart University Chess Team, which turned out in near-full force with nine participants and featured the defending Connecticut Collegiate Champion NM Mark Dedona. Dedona won the event with a perfect 4.0/4, defeating two Yale University Masters on his way to his second straight title. Fairfield's Max Ingargiola won second and the Top Prospect award in the Open section, while Yale's NM Maxim Yaskolko finished third. The Collegiate event also set an attendance record with 36 participants. [See full story with standings and reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (4/13)
  
  
  The 2025 Collegiate Championships at Wesleyan University.
  
  
• NM Mikhail Koganov wins back-to-back Connecticut Senior Championships. Koganov outlasted the field and GM Sergey Kudrin in the fourth and final round to win the event with 3.5/4 in clear first. This is Mikhail's third Senior Champion title, also winning the inaugural Senior event in 2019. The 2025 Senior Championship held at Wesleyan University on April 12, together with the Women's and Collegiate Championships, set an attendance record with an incredible 24 participants. The CSCA would like to thank our seniors for turning out and showing their support for Senior chess. [See full story with standings and reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (4/13)
  
  
  Twenty four seniors played in the 2025 Senior Championships
  at Wesleyan University, as NM Koganov defended his
  Connecticut title.
  
  
• On April 12 at the 2025 Connecticut Women's Championship, Woodbridge's Lacey Wang became the 5th Connecticut Women's Champion. Lacey, NM Jasmine Su, 2022 Champion Dharani Sree Ravi and Massachusetts' Adriana Gallardo Avalo (below right) all tied for first with a score of 3.0/4. However, Lacey's tie break scores were substantially stronger. Lacey and our Connecticut 2024 and 2025 Girls Champion, Lilianna Gao, finished as the top two scholastic players in the event and will represent Connecticut at the 2025 Polgar Invitational at Webster University in St. Louis this June. The 2025 Women's Championship was the strongest in its history, including two Masters, 5 players over 1900 and three more rated 1500-1800. [See full story with standings and reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (4/13)
  
  
  The 2025 Women's Championship at Wesleyan University.
  
  
• Collegiate Chess Final Four ends in a tie, as Webster University and University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley hoist the President's Cup together. This was Webster's seventh National title and UTRGV's fourth. (4/8)
  
  
• GM Jianchao Zhou of Massachusetts won first at the 2025 Connecticut Speed Championships, held this Saturday at Connecticut College, scoring 25.5 of the possible 30 overall points. GM Maxim Dlugy won the Connecticut Speed and Rapid titles, finishing in second with 23.5 overall points, and FM Zachary Tanenbaum won the Connecticut Blitz and Bullet titles, finishing third in the overall standings with 23 points. Recently graduated Sacred Heart University Chess member Joseph Cyr won all four Connecticut Amateur Speed titles, scoring 26.5 of 30 overall points, including a perfect Rapid result. [See full story with all standings and reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (4/7)
  
  
  GM Jianchao Zhou (left) and GM Maxim Dlugy (right) square
  off at the 2025 Connecticut Speed Championships.
  
  
• Connecticut's NM Jasmine Su won the U16 Section at the KCF All-Girls Nationals in Chicago with a perfect 6.0/6 score. A record 546 girls participated in the event. This is Jasmine's first major outright National title. (4/7)
  
  
  NM Jasmine Su receiving her placement award from
  former US Chess President IM Beatriz Marianello at
  the KCF Girls Nationals.
  
  
• ChessMax Academy Greenwich begins bi-weekly quads hosted and directed by NM Mikhail Koganov. (4/1)
  
  
• On March 29, the CSCA's 2025 Connecticut Scholastic Team Championships drew a record 113 players and 36 teams to Brunswick School (Greenwich). Winners were Greenwich High School, Brunswick Middle School (Greenwich), Leete Elementary-Baldwin Middle (Guilford) and Bugbee Elementary-Braeburn Elementary. [See full story with all reports and results on the CSCA Facebook Page] (4/1)
  
  
  2025 Scholastic Team Championships at Brunswick School.
  
  

Chess News Wire -- March 2025

• The HCC March Game-in-45 set club registration record with a 36-player sold out full house with participants from MA, RI, NH, and CT. UConn iron man Omkar Maralappanavar won the Open, and William Steven Wannamaker Krause won the U1600. (3/31)
  
  
• Fairfield County Scholastic Chess League, led by St. Luke's chess advisor, Alvin Hamilton, completes regular season. Top four schools enter a playoff stage, presently pending with Hackley defeating Trumbull in the first match. (3/8)
  
  
  
  
• Way of the Board Chess Club in Ridgefield starts casual adult play on Saturdays. (3/8)
  
  
• 
  
  On February 27, the tenth World Chess Champion USSR's GM Boris Spassky died in Moscow on February 27 at age 88. Photo courtesy of FIDE (3/5)
  
  
• Ridgefield's Way of the Board Chess Club holds March 2 all ages tournament. 31 players took part. (3/3)
  
  
  March 2025 all ages tournament at Way of the Board Chess Club.
  
  

Chess News Wire -- February 2025

• CSCA reschedules Collegiate and Senior Championships, due to unexpected venue conflict at Wesleyan University. New date will be announced shortly and is expected in mid-March or early April. (2/21)
  
  
• CSCA members from Massachusetts, GM Jianchoa Zhou and scholastic player Tommy Kozlek, won the 2024 US Chess Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix, respectively. This is Master Zhou's second Prix title back-to- back and future master Kozlek's first of likely many! Congratulations to both of these great players, and CSCA thanks them both for making the effort to share their talents in Connecticut! ... A note of interest: The top three Grand Prix winners played in Connecticut in 2024. (2/8)
  
  
• On January 25-26, the e4 Chess Academy hosted the Inaugural Connecticut Classical, the CSCA's first ever FIDE-rated tournament. Kevin Zhao of Wellesley, Massachusetts won the tournament on tie breaks over WIM Sahana Aravindakshan of Somerset, New Jersey, who both finished with 3.5/4, which included a head-to-head draw in the final fourth round. Two of Connecticut's top scholastic talents, Max Ingargiola and Kushagra Bhargava, finished tied for third with 3.0/4, sharing the 3rd and U2200 prizes. National Tournament Director and International Arbiter Alex Relyea and Senior Tournament Director and International Arbiter Nita Patel directed the event. [See full story with all standings and reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (2/3)
  
  
  Inaugural Connecticut Classical at e4 Chess Academy on January 25-26.
  
  

Chess News Wire -- January 2025

• CSCA “A Place to Play” programs kick off 2025 with crowded full rosters and waitlists. All waitlisted players have been moved to the regular program with about 70, 50 and 55 attending at Norwalk, West Haven and East Hartford libraries, respectively. CSCA sends a special thank you to US Chess Trust and the libraries, towns and friends of the libraries for funding and equipping these great annual programs for the Connecticut chess community. (1/21)
  
  
  CSCA library chess program at East Hartford Public Library.
  
  
• Lilianna Gao wins back-to-back Connecticut Girls Champion titles, as 20 girls took part in the 2025 Connecticut Girls Championship at Greenwich Academy yesterday. (1/19)
  
  
  Greenwich Academy hosts the 2025 Connecticut Girls Championship.
  
  
• Sacred Heart University wins 4th place in the U1800 division at the 2025 Pan Am Intercollegiate Team Championship, held at the Charlotte Chess Center. (1/5)
  
  
  The Sacred Heart University team at the 2025 PanAms.
  Left to right: Mark Khalil, NM Mark Dedona, Brent
  McCreesh and Joseph Cyr.
  
  
• CSCA will hold its first ever FIDE-rated tournament on January 25-26 at the e4 Chess Academy in Norwalk, CT. The Inaugural Connecticut Classical will be a 4-round 90+30 competition, played two rounds per day. NTD/IA Alex Relyea is expected to lead refereeing for the event. Registration opens in the next few days. (1/3)
  
  
• GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Ian Nepomniachtchi share the 2024 World Blitz Crown after agreeing to share the title at the board, following seven additional games resulting in draw. World Women's Champion GM Ju Wenjun won the Women's Blitz Title. (1/3)