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4/14/2024
WIM Natasha Morales Santos is 2024 Connecticut Women's Champion


WIM Natasha Morales Santos at the Women's
Championship

On April 14, the CSCA held the Connecticut Women's Championship at Wesleyan University. The event was postponed from March to April due to severe weather. WIM Natasha Morales Santos, who recently moved to Connecticut from Puerto Rico, won the event with a perfect score. Mridhulaa Rajagopal of Avon placed second. And Elle Cirillo of Glastonbury finished third. Connecticut is one of only a few states, and the only in the Northeast, to offer an all-women's state title event. See Rating Report.

4/13/2024
Brunswick School Hosts 2023-24 Connecticut Grade Championships

On April 13, the National Scholastic Chess Foundation held the 2023-24 Connecticut Scholastic Grade Championships at the Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut. 138 players took part. The Grade Champions were as follows:

• K: Ethan Ing (Whitby School)
• 1st: Maxim Rowland (Rye Country Day School)
• 2nd: Ryland Chang (Calvin Leete Elementary)
• 3rd: Leroy Chang (Calvin Leete Elementary)
• 4th: Krystian Tkaczewski Jr. (St. Thomas & St. Timothy)
• 5th: Leopold Cartellieri (Brunswick School)
• 6th: Kushagra Bhargava (Hillcrest Middle)
• 7th: Seann Dubrovsky (Whitby School)
• 8th: Nadav Munro Hartman (Mansfield Middle)
• 9th: Jack Aronian (St. Luke's School)
• 10th: Miles Gillott (Brunswick School)
• 11th: Vedanta Bhargava (Trumbull High)

Chess News Wire -- April 2024

• UPDATED 2/20 POST: Nine all-Connecticut teams and seventeen partial-Connecticut teams participated at the 2024 US Amateur Team East on February 17-19 in Parsippany, New Jersey. The top Connecticut prize went to "We Got Out of Perpetual Belicheck", the team of FM Richard Bauer, NM Derek Meredith, Douglas Fiske and Joseph Bihlmeyer, who finished with 4.0/6 team points and in 55th place of 330 total teams. Carnegie Melon A, which included Connecticut's NM Dennis Fan Li on Board 2, was the highest placing partial-Connecticut team, finishing in twelfth place. (4/19)
  
  
  NBCC members at USATE24. Left to right, back: Robert Cyr, FM Richard
  Bauer, Douglas Fiske, John Nitz and NM James Nitz; middle: Joseph
  Bihlmeyer, Michael Pascetta and Norman Burtness; front: Krystian
  Tkaczewski, Jr.
  
  
• Former NBCC President Joseph Mansigian passed away on April 12. A well-respected NBCC regular, who held several leadership positions at the club over the years, was Club President from 2003 to 2010 and the architect of the annual NBCC Oktoberfest Open Chess Tournament in celebration of the club's German heritage. He was seventy-seven years old. (4/18)
• IM Maximillian Lu places eighth at National High School Championship, held in Baltimore, Maryland on April 5-7. Ten Connecticut players took part in the event. (4/10)
• Former CM Zachary Tanenbaum of Greenwich is a new Connecticut FIDE Master as of January 2024. FM Tanenbaum reached the required rating mark in October 2023 at the Marshall Chess Club. He will be participating in all three Connecticut Speed events this Saturday at Eastern Connecticut State University. (4/4)
• Eight Masters register for Connecticut Speed Championships. CSCA is extending registration to allow same day entries 30 minutes ahead of each event. (4/4)
• 34 players attended the Way of the Board March 17 tournament in Ridgefield. Vincenzo Cusato won the U1200 section, which was open to all ages. Jayden Gonsalves won the U800 section. Finally, following an epic four-way tie for first in the U400 section between PJ Fabbri, Duy Tran, Rayan Mathivanan and Maya Jussa, two rounds of tiebreaks decided the trophies to PJ and Duy. (4/4)
  
  
  Players mid-competition at the March 17 WOB Tournament in Ridgefield
  
  
• CSCA postpones late April events. The Connecticut Open and Hartmayer Memorial will not be played this spring. Hopeful collegiate venues were unable to obtain university space commitments ahead of the end of the 2023-24 academic year. Both events are likely to move to the CSCA's fall 2024 schedule. Regardless, the Connecticut Grade Championships on April 13 at Brunswick School, the Women's Championship on April 14 at Wesleyan and the Hall of Fame Action Championship on May 19 at Sacred Heart will all proceed as scheduled. (4/3)
• 67 Connecticut players participate at Foxwoods Open, which drew a total of 456 players nationally and internationally. Connecticut prize winners were Ryan Young (U2200), Max Ingargiola (U2200), Jacob Laplant (U2000), Matthew Gerdon (U1800), Cody Wu (U1800), Jack Qian (U1600), Praharsh Varada (U1600), Shritan Vijay (U1600), Callum Young (U1600), Leroy Chang (U1400), Eric Ren (U1100), Rylan Chang (U1100), Wilson Estrella (U1100), Andy Wang (U1100) and Jesse Thomas (U1100). Ren also won the U1100 section, and Qian finished tied for first in the U1600. The top Connecticut finish in the Open section was by NM Jasmine Su, who finished 32nd with a score of 2-1-4, taking two byes on day 1 of the event. (4/2)

4/7/2024
GM Maxim Dlugy wins 2024 Connecticut Speed and Bullet Championships;
FM Zachary Tanenbaum wins Quick and Blitz Championships


GM Maxim Dlugy at the 2024 Speed Championships.

On April 6, the 2024 Connecticut Speed Championships--a combination of the Quick, Blitz and Bullet Championships--returned to Eastern Connecticut State University for the second consecutive year. Forty-seven players took part in the event, including GM Maxim Dlugy, GM Sergey Kudrin, IM Jan Van de Mortel and new Connecticut FIDE Master and former Speed Champion, Zachary Tanenbaum. Also participating were Connecticut Champions Kushagra Bhargava, Lacey Wang, NM Mikhail Koganov and NM Mark Dedona. The event featured a $4,000 Prize, which was distributed among fifteen top participants. GM Dlugy won the overall Speed and Bullet titles. FM Tanenbaum won the Quick and Blitz events, finishing second in the overall competition. Michael Uwakwe, one of Connecticut's top non-title players, finished third overall. GM Kudrin won the Senior title. Lacey Wang won the Female and Elementary titles. Kushagra Bhargava took the Middle School title. And David Mashkov captured the High School title. The event was organized and directed by CSCA President Alexander Lumelsky with assistance from ECSU Chess Club's President Timothy Jacques and Director Joshua Ramirez, and Hall High School's (West Hartford) Jake Lumelsky. See Combined Final Standings, Quick and Blitz Rating Reports, and the complete photo collage on our Facebook Page.

Chess News Wire -- March 2024

• CSCA opens registration for the long-awaited 2024 Speed Championships on April 6 at Eastern Connecticut State University. Among other modifications, the event features a $4,000 prize fund--a sixty percent increase over the prior year--and expanded prize and registration formats. The beautiful Tipton Room at ECSU is once again host venue, thanks to the efforts of the university's Chess Club President Timothy Jacques. (3/24)
  
  
  ECSU Betty Tipton Room, 2023 Speed Championships
  
  
• The spring registration for the Norwalk Knight Library Program is now full. The waitlist is open. This is the fifth consecutive time that Knights registration closes early. (3/23)
• Women's Championship POSTPONED due to inclement weather forecast for March 23. New date will be announced early next week. (3/22)
• 2024 Women's Championship opens registration. Event features include $40 entry credit for new USCF members, a $200 increase in prize fund and a free unrated section for non-USCF members, which includes a $50 prize. Host venue is Wesleyan University. (3/13)
• CSCA membership reaches new peak at 1,438 members through March 2. (3/4)
• CSCA weekly online events averaged 250 players in February. (3/4)

3/20/2024
Troop 67 Montville and CSCA Partner for Second Akela Classic


Akela Classic ready for Round 5 at Lyme-Old Lyme High School.

On March 17 at Lyme-Old Lyme Region 18 High School in Old Lyme, Boys Scouts Troop 67 Montville hosted their second regional scholastic tournament, the Second Akela Classic, a grade-based competition held in three sections: Grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-12. Forty players participated in the event, maintaining its status as the largest all-unrated tournament in the state. Following the out-of-state departure of a key volunteer, the Troop partnered with the CSCA, to assist with event administration. Troop Leader Scott Fagan took on the role of chief event organizer and led a team of Troop parent volunteers in assembling the tournament, while CSCA provided promotion and directing assistance. The Troop and CSCA would like to thank all of this year's volunteers for making the event a wonderful player and parent experience. Additional gratitude is expressed to Troop and CSCA volunteer Esteban Ramirez for his devotion in creating and helping to continue this important regional competition for the players and the Connecticut chess community. See event standings for final results.

3/3/2024
Greenwich High, Brunswick School, Bugbee-Braeburn Elementary and West Hartford Schools Are Scholastic Team Champions


Scholastic Team Championships return to Manchester High School.

On March 2, the 2024 Connecticut Scholastic Team Championships were held at Manchester High School for the second consecutive year, thanks to MHS Teacher, Chess Club Coach and CSCA Board Member Parag Joshi and the members of the MHS Chess Club and Team. The team-based event format, which was introduced and separated from the individual Scholastic Championships for the first time in 2023, provides schools a Swiss System competition, strictly based on team results. The format also relieves organizers and coaches from the frequently difficult effort of forming fixed roster teams. In all, 76 players and 15 teams, as well as about twenty individual competitors, participated in the event. Greenwich High School won the High School section, just a half point ahead of Brunswick School (Greenwich) and 1.5 points ahead of third place Cardinal Kung Academy (Stamford). In the Middle School section, Brunswick School edged out Mansfield Middle School to take the title, while Timothy Edwards Middle School (South Windsor) placed third. Meanwhile, Bugbee-Braeburn Elementary (West Hartford) combined team finished the event with a strong final round to win the Elementary title, with fellow West Hartford Norfeldt-Morley Combined and Duffy Elementary finishing second and third. West Hartford Schools also won the Primary title with a combined team of four district players from four district elementary schools. The event was directed by Senior TD NM Ian Harris and Hall High School's (West Hartford) Jake Lumelsky. See Rating Report.

2/26/2024
NM Mikhail Koganov Wins 2024 Senior Championship and Connecticut Irwin Nomination; Lisa Smith is Connecticut's First 65 and over Champion.


NM Derek Meredith and NM Mikhail Koganov in their decisive Round 4
match at the 2024 Senior Championship at Wesleyan.

On February 24, the 2024 Connecticut Senior Championship was held at Wesleyan University's Exley Science Center for the third consecutive year. Wesleyan Chess Club's Collin Holson and Theo Bussinger made an extra effort to assist in the event's organization. This year, thirteen seniors--players age 50 and over--took part in the event, including big names like the reigning three-time Champion GM Sergey Kudrin, former Champion NM Mikhail Koganov and West Hartford's NM Derek Meredith. Unlike in prior two years, however, this time the event did not finish in rating order and many surprises would transpire. GM Kudrin played two draws in the first three rounds, falling out of contention, and never reaching the decisive fourth round with second seeded, NM Koganov. Instead, NM Meredith took a commanding lead over the entire field with two wins and a third-round draw with Kudrin. In the fourth round, Meredith took an early controlling lead against Koganov and seemed on his way to his first Senior Title when he unexpectedly erred in the closing moments while short on time. As a result, NM Mikhail Koganov finished first, winning his second Senior Title and Irwin Nomination. GM Sergey Kudrin and Durham's Joseph Bihlmeyer finished tied for second, with Kudrin receiving Irwin Alternate Nomination status on tie breaks. Meanwhile, West Simsbury's Lisa Smith played an exceptionally strong fourth round match with South Glastonbury's Michael Pascetta, to win Connecticut's first 65+ Senior Title and also the Top U1800 placement. HCC's owner/founder Rod Groff won the Top U1400 prize, and Mansfield's Gary Kanaby won the Top U1000 prize. The event was organized and directed together with the Collegiate Championship by CSCA President Alexander Lumelsky with assistance from Ocean State Chess Association's Matthew Freeman and Hall High School's (West Hartford) Jake Lumelsky. See Final Standings and Rating Report.

2/26/2024
SHU Dominates 2024 Collegiate Championship, Wins 1st in Open, U1600 and Team


Sacred Heart's NM Mark Dedona facing teammate Brent McCreesh in the
final round of the 2024 Collegiate Championship.

On February 24, the 2024 Connecticut Collegiate Championship was held at Wesleyan University's Exley Science Center for the third consecutive year. Sacred Heart University's Chess Team participated in force and dominated the event from start to finish. Team captain, NM Mark Dedona, won the Open section with a perfect 4.0/4 score. Four players--SHU's Brent McCreesh, Hall High School's Ryan Zheng, Farmington High School's David Mashkov and West Side Elementary's (Nassau, NY) Jin Ma--tied for second. In the U1600, SHU's Joseph Cyr finished first with a perfect score, Yale University's Abhisar Mittal finished second, and a three-way tie for third included SHU's Mark Khalil, John Wallace Middle's (Newington) Praharsh Varada and Wesleyan's Amit Piryatinsky. Hopkinton High School's (MA) Matthew Beauvais won the U1800 prize in the Open section. Meanwhile, SHU's Treyden Medonis won the U1200 prize, and SHU's Jonathan Elliott won the U800 prize in the U1600 section. SHU also won the team competition, limited to the U1600 section, by a four-point margin. Wesleyan University finished second, and newcomers James Hillhouse High School (New Haven) finished third. In total, thirty-three collegiate and grade 6 to 12 scholastic players, who are invited to participate, took part in the event with SHU and host Wesleyan University fielding the largest teams. See Final Standings and Rating Report.

Chess News Wire -- February 2024

• CSCA partners with Montville Boys Scouts Troop for the Akela Chess Classic. The unrated scholastic fundraiser will be held at Lyme-Old Lyme High School on March 17. It is intended to introduce children at all school levels to chess competition, as well as support annual troop activities. (2/28)
• Greenwich High School wins 2023-24 FCICL. GHS finished the season with a perfect 11-0 record, closely followed by 10-1 Brunswick School (Greenwich). The 11-week team competition came to a close last week with its traditional over-the-board individual competition, in which Nishant Jain of GHS and Sebastian Lopez of Trumbull High shared the title. (2/26)
  
  
  
  
• Nine all-Connecticut teams and seventeen partial-Connecticut teams participated at the 2024 US Amateur Team East on February 17-19 in Parsippany, New Jersey. The top Connecticut prize went to "We Got Out of Perpetual Belicheck", the team of FM Richard Bauer, NM Derek Meredith, Douglas Fiske and Joseph Bihlmeyer, who finished with 4.0/6 team points and in 55th place of 330 total teams. Carnegie Melon A, which included Connecticut's NM Dennis Fan Li on Board 2, was the highest placing partial-Connecticut team, finishing in twelfth place. (2/20)
  
  
  NBCC members at USATE24. Left to right, back: Robert Cyr, FM Richard
  Bauer, Douglas Fiske, John Nitz and NM James Nitz; middle: Joseph
  Bihlmeyer, Michael Pascetta and Norman Burtness; front: Krystian
  Tkaczewski, Jr.
  
  
• CSCA Lunar Year Lightning Arena draws 1,900 players. India's GM Diptayan Ghosh won the event. This latest major competition propelled CSCA's Open Events team into the Top 20 on Lichess.org with over 13,500 members. (2/18)
• 35 adults and children took part in the Way of the Board Open in Ridgefield. Grady Pompa won the U1200 section, Uladzislau Zakharyashchau won the U800 section, and Enoh Moguel won U400 section. The club's next event will be on March 17. (2/17)
  
  
  First Way of the Board Open held February 17 for kids and adults in the club's new tournament space.
  
  
• CSCA raises Collegiate and Senior prize funds by 33%, adds a 65+ Champion title. Both events take place February 24 at Wesleyan University and are now open for registration! (2/14)
• CSCA reschedules Connecticut Speed Championships to April 6. Registration will open soon. (2/1)

Chess News Wire -- January 2024

• CSCA averaged over 300 players in weekly online prize events in January on Lichess.org. (1/24)
• Norwalk Library chess program gets winter session started with another full registration. (1/18)
• Connecticut College repeats as small school champion at Pan Am Collegiate. (1/10)
• CSCA ended 2023 with over 1,300 members. The 1,000 members goal was reached following October 21-22 over-the-board and online competition weekend. CSCA programs and online chess activity expedited membership growth beyond expectations. Membership more than doubled in 2023. (1/2)

1/22/2024
Lilianna Gao Wins 2024 Girls Championship; Connecticut to Set US Chess Invitationals Record


Gao sisters, Isabella (left) and Lilianna, playing one another in the third
round at Greenwich Academy.

On January 20, the 2024 Connecticut Girls Championship was held at Greenwich Academy. This was the second consecutive year the event is held at GA. Connecticut's Lilianna Gao won the event with a perfect 4.0/4 score. Sister Isabella Gao won second with a score of 3.0/4, and Connecticut's Sky Liu finished in third with 2.0/4. In the U800 Section, Arya Raguram won first place. Seventeen girls in all played in the event, down from 2023 but well above the Girls Championship's annual average. With a new Girls Champion crowned, Connecticut will set a US Chess Invitational record this summer as the only state in event history with three of four female scholastic Invitees. See Final Standings, Rating Report and Awards Summary.

1/8/2024
IM Max Lu, NM Jasmine Su, Lacey Wang, Alan Su and Max Rowland Win 2024 Connecticut Scholastic Championships


Kushagra Bhargava (left) and NM Jasmine Su playing their tie break
match. Background: Assistant TD Jake Lumelsky (left) and SHU
Chess Team and event co-organizer, Paul Rychlik. Additional event
photos are available here.

On January 6 at Sacred Heart University, 105 players participated in the 2024 Connecticut Scholastic Championships. IM Maximillian Lu will return to the US Chess Denker Invitational for the second consecutive year as the Connecticut High School Champion. Likewise, NM Jasmine Su will return to the US Chess Barber Invitational for the second consecutive year as the Connecticut Middle School Champion. Meanwhile, the 2023 Connecticut Girls Champion, Lacey Wang, will return to the Invitationals as the Rockefeller Invitational Nominee and 2024 Connecticut Elementary School Champion. All three finished the Championships with perfect 4.0/4 scores, and Jasmine even survived an Armageddon tie break with two-time Connecticut Rockefeller Nominee and Elementary School Champion, Kushagra Bhargava, who also finished perfect after classical games, to win their grade level titles. Jasmine's brother Alan Su won the Primary School section with a perfect score, and Connecticut's Maxim Rowland won the K-1. The event was directed by Senior TD NM Ian Harris with assistance from Ismael Pagan and Jake Lumelsky. Games from the top high school boards were also broadcast over DGT and the CSCA website and can be reviewed here. See Final Standings, Rating Report and Awards Summary.

1/3/2024
GM Alexander Ivanov Wins Inaugural New Haven County & Meriden City Championships

On December 30, 2023, the CSCA held the inaugural New Haven regional, the New Haven County & Meriden City Championships, at Meriden Public Library's new event hall. A total of fifty-nine players took part in the event from unrated beginners to famed Grand Masters. Massachusetts' GM Alexander Ivanov won first place on tie breaks following a four-way tie at the top of the Open section, which included Stamford's GM Sergey Kudrin, New Jersey's IM Ian Dudley and Ludlowe High School's (Fairfield) Max Ingargiola. This is GM Ivanov's third consecutive Connecticut regional title. In the U1800, Wallace Middle School's (Newington) Praharsh Varada finished with a perfect 4.0/4 to take first place. Meriden's John Pasco, Windham High School's Robbie Jay, St. Thomas and St. Timothy's School's (West Hartford) Krystian Tkaczewski, Jr. and New Haven's Tomas Gordon finished in a four-way tie for second. Ridgefield's Aaron Piao won the U1200 section with Westport's Harrison Solomon finishing second and North Carolina's Bryan Waltman finishing third. Bugbee Elementary's (West Hartford) Brian Dai won the U700 section with New London's John Ulett finishing second and Orange's Krystal Tang finishing third. Meriden's Daniel Farias won the Not Rated section with Manchester's Adam Zukowski and Orange's Diana Isaacs placing second and third, respectively. The tournament was held in support of the CSCA's library program and initiative at the Meriden Library. The event was organized and directed by CSCA President Alexander Lumelsky with assistance from Bridgeport's Ismael Pagan and West Hartford's Samuel Lumelsky. See Final Standings and Rating Report .

1/2/2024
CSCA's Bullet to the New Year Arena Sets CSCA Event Record with 2,400 Participants

On December 30, 2023, while over-the-board chess was played at the New Haven County & Meriden City Championships, the CSCA simultaneously hosted and managed a major Arena tournament in its Open Events Team on Lichess.org. A CSCA record 2,399 players joined the event for G/1+0 competition from 11 AM to 2 PM. The event also featured a streamers' competition. Indonesia's IM Yoseph Taher won the tournament by a narrow margin over Russia's FM Dmitry Tsoi. Meanwhile, Spain's GM David Larino won the streamers' contest. The Open Events Team rose to the Top 25 teams on Lichess.org, exceeding 11,000 members worldwide.

Click here for 2023 news archive or visit our History Section for prior years.