Last week, the US Chess Trust announced five recipients of the 2010 Scholar-Chessplayer Award, including 11th grader NM Rohan Agarwal of Fremont. The other scholarship winners were Richard Herbst (Colorado), WFM Abby Marshall(Virginia), Jake Miller(New York) and FM Victor Shen (New Jersey).
"These annual scholarships awarded by the US Chess Trust, the National Scholastic Chess Foundation, and the USCF, are intended to recognize and encourage high school junior or senior students who promote a positive image of chess. High School students who have shown outstanding merits in academics, sportsmanship and chess were eligible to apply to these scholarships. Five awards of $1,500.00 each (total of $7,500) in scholarship money are awarded."
Well done Rohan for excelling in challenging courses at Irvington High School as much as on the chessboard! Read my blog tribute to the "Master Gambiteer" dated January 2009 and my report on the 2009 US Cadet invitational. No doubt the many skills required to checkmate will also help Rohan in other walks of life. Good luck!
Last year, CalChess made the unfortunate decision to schedule the state scholastics on the same weekend at the National High School Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The High School Nationals have never drawn a large crowd from the Bay Area, although sometimes a few elite players attend with the goal of bringing home a national title (like Michael Zhong in 2007). My students at Saratoga High School also achieved some success, finishing as high as 3rd place team in the country.
In order to allow top players a (theoretical) chance to attend the National High School Championship and still have a chance to represent CalChess at the Denker Invitational this summer, there will be two separate events, one in March and one in April. However, only the winner(s) of the April championship may call themselves state champs.
What is the Denker Invitational? The Denker is a prestigious invitational tournament open only to high school state champions each year. There are approximately 50 invitees, one for each state (two for California). Named after the late Grandmaster Arnold Denker (photo at right), the field includes many experts and usually tops out in the mid 2200s, with maybe one or two players above 2300. Only juniors currently in grades 9 through 12 are eligible; younger players cannot qualify. Recent Northern California representatives were: Evan Sandberg (2009), Steven Zierk (2008), Nicolas Yap (2007) and Daniel Schwarz (2006).
The invitational takes place each August at the US Open, held in different places each year all around the country. This year is a bit special because the location will be in Irvine, Southern California. The dates are July 31 through August 3. After completing six rounds in the Denker, players may choose to also play in the 6-day schedule of the US Open. That's 15 games of chess (each up to 5-6 hours) in 9 days. Most likely, I will play in the more leisurely 9-day schedule of the US Open.
Who should play in the Denker Qualifier?
Technically speaking, any student in K-12 may enter the Denker Qualifier, although a minimum rating of 1200 is needed for those in elementary or middle school. Very few, however, have a realistic chance to qualify. Generally speaking, only high school students rated over 2000 have a decent chance to win. Seven high school players are rated over 2000: FM Steven Zierk, NM Gregory Young, NM Rohan Agarwal, Evan Sandberg, Hayk Manvelyan, Nicholas Karas and Arthur Liou. Players younger than 9th grade may play for practice, but cannot qualify for Denker even if they win.
I suggest that you should play in the Denker Qualifier on March 19-21 if you fall into one of the following categories:
You are in grades 9-12 and are rated above 2000.
You are in grades 9-12, are rated above 1600 and wish to face tough competition.
You are in grades K-8 and are rated above 1800 and feel that you need to face older and stronger opponents to get better.
You are in grades K-12, are rated above 1200, and simply want to get your butt kicked--just for a learning experience.
Should I choose the 2-day or 3-day schedule?
I expect most players to choose the 2-day schedule (three G/60 then three more G/120). Those who prefer slower time controls and are free on Friday night can play the 3-day schedule (three G/90 then three more G/120). The two schedules will merge in round 4. Note: based on early entries, the 3-day schedule is significantly stronger with nobody rated under 1800.
Which tournament will be stronger?
I predict that the March event may actually be tougher than the official state championship in April, for the following three reasons:
Top players tend to be more interested in qualifying for Denker than winning a state championship. Plus, one or two masters might go to Ohio for nationals instead.
The Denker Qualifier presents a great opportunity for all of the talented elementary and middle school kids to compete against the top high school players. I expect most of the A and B rated K-6 and K-8 kids to be back in their normal age groups at the CalChess Scholastics.
There won't be many weak players at the Denker Qualifier (currently 17 of 28 early entries are over 1800). On the other hand, the CalChess Scholastics attracts school teams, including many lower rated players.
Where is the advance entry list?
Click here for the advance entry list posted at the Bay Area Chess website. As of March 10, there are 28 entries in the Denker Qualifier. (2-day schedule: 10 players, median rating 1888. 3-day schedule: 18 players, median rating 1763.) Only three of the seven eligible high school students rated above 2000 have entered so far. However, there are seven elementary school kids rated above 1800 who have chosen to play up.
Make sure to register for the Denker Qualifier before the entry deadline on Wednesday, March 17! (St. Patrick's Day) Follow this link to the Bay Area Chess online payment system.
The new FIDE rating list for March 2010 was released this week. Nine Bay Area juniors have earned their international rating--fully 75% of the local kids rated above 2000. Unlike just a few years ago, now there are plenty of opportunities to establish a FIDE rating simply by playing in the top section at Northern California tournaments.
Two observations this month: 1. Welcome to Samuel Sevian (photo at left by Shorman), who earned his first published rating last November. He gained 84 points since that first rating (using the higher K factor for new players). 2. The two FIDE Masters, Danya Naroditsky and Steven Zierk (photo at right from 2007 CalChess Scholastics), appear to be chasing each other's rating. Their current USCF ratings are 3 points apart; the FIDE ratings are separated by just 8 points. Go right ahead boys! Chase each other all the way to 2500!
FM Danya Naroditsky 2388
FM Steven Zierk 2380 -- gained 74 points in 4 months!
NM Gregory Young 2268
NM Yian Liou 2229
NM Rohan Agarwal 2197
Evan Sandberg 2159
Samuel Sevian 2144 -- gained 84 points (provisional) in 4 months!
(Left: Yian Liou and Steven Zierk hard at work. Right: Daniel Liu and Jack Zhu pose for the camera.)
Congratulations to the 109 Northern California juniors who are nationally ranked on the February USCF Top 100 lists! We have witnessed a veritable explosion of talent--there were merely 87 ranked kids three years ago, a growth of 25%. Nine stars appear among the top 5, including three well-known #1's: FIDE Masters Tanuj Vasudeva and Daniel Naroditsky plus 9 year old candidate master Samuel Sevian.
Considering that the Bay Area still remains a technology hotspot for the country, it comes as no surprise to see so many of the nation's best young chess players at local tournaments. In fact, the participants of the recent Golden State Open included five #1 ranked juniors and another five at either #2 or #3 (the majority from the Bay Area). Frankly, the explosive growth of scholastic chess over the past decade suggests that the future of our country remains bright.
A few days ago, I uploaded the February CalChess Top 100 and CalChess Top 20 lists to my website. I counted 16 ranked juniors who gained at least 100 rating points in just the past two months. While most big gains came under 1200 (the formula makes it easier to gain points if you're lower rated), two of the most impressive performances were turned in by 12 year old Joshua Cao (1399 to 1665) and 16 year old Thadeus Frei (1790 to 1903). (Photo of Thadeus at right from Dana Mackenzie's interesting chess blog.)
Special kudos to the following nine Bay Area gold medalists for February! How many future Grandmasters or International Masters are there among this exclusive list?
GOLD MEDAL (top 5) Arun Khemani (#4 age 6) Rayan Taghizadeh (#3 age 7) Tanuj Vasudeva (#1 age 8) Samuel Sevian (#1 age 9) NM Yian Liou (#2 age 12) FM Daniel Naroditsky (#1 age 14) NM Gregory Young (#2 age 14) NM Steven Zierk (#3 age 16) IM Sam Shankland (#2 age 18)
Players ranked in the top 10 and top 25 of the country also deserve a special recognition. The names shown in bold and italics are all current or former students of mine. SILVER MEDAL (top 15) Cameron Wheeler (#10 age 9) Vignesh Panchanatham (#11 age 9) Jack Zhu (#9 age 11) Kyle Shin (#14 age 12) NM Rohan Agarwal (#14 age 16)
BRONZE MEDAL (top 25)Leyton Ho, Michael Wang, Kesav Viswanadha, Allan Beilin, Daniel Liu, James Kwok, Taylor McCreary, Samyukta Bhat, Evan Sandberg, Michael Zhong, Adarsh Konda
After the graduation of five high school seniors in June, the Bay Area seeks fresh blood to fill its elite ranking lists. Earning an international (FIDE) rating is one mark of an elite player. To achieve a FIDE rating, you must enter one or more official FIDE rated events, play at least 9 games with rated opponents and score a minimum 1600 performance. There are two new faces on the Northern California list: Kyle Shin (photo at right from ChessDryad) and Hayk Manvelyan (who actually earned his first rating in April) . Both start out with solid initial ratings in the high 2000s, a tad higher than my 2054 way back in January 2000. Kudos also to new master Yian Liou for posting an impressive gain over the past two months.
Due to a recent policy change, FIDE now publishes its ratings six times a year, up from four. The following represents the official September 2009 FIDE rating list.
FM Danya Naroditsky 2339
FM Steven Zierk 2303
NM Gregory Young 2264
NM Yian Liou 2208 -- gained 74 points in two months!
Four Tie for First at 7th Silicon Valley Challenge
(Two of the nation's top juniors squared off in round 3. Playing white, 8 year old expert Samuel Sevian held a draw against 15 year old FM-elect Steven Zierk.)
Article submitted by organizer Charles Sun.
The Silicon Valley Challenge #7, held on the August 1st, 2009, attracted a total of 43 players to the Century Arts Alliance Foundation near the Great Mall in San Jose. Snacks and bottles of water were complimentary as usual and participants helped themselves between rounds.
The Open section was filled with 32 players. Master players include Steven Zierk (2319), Emmanuel Perez (2267), Michael Aigner (2263), Rohan Agarwal (2227) and Richard Koepcke (2222). Three Expert-players rated 2000 to 2200 and seven A-players rated 1800 to 2000 also joined in fierce competition. After acing his first three games, NM Aigner lost the last round to one of his students, FM-elect Zierk. At the end, Zierk, Koepcke, Kyle Shin (2070) and Samuel Sevian (2055) tied the first place and shared the top prizes.
Neel Apte won the first prize for U1700 and gained 34 rating points for his impressive performance. Also, congratulations to Armaan Kalyanpur who won second prize.
There were 11 players in the U1600 section. Bryan Huang took clear first by an entire point, winning all of his games! Congratulations to Rahul Mohan for the second place and to Vignesh Varadarajan and Colin Ma for taking the U1000 prizes.
Thanks to everyone for participating in the Silicon Valley Challenge. Special thanks to Colin Ma for donating scoresheets and Michael Aigner for his help with tournament preparations. Future events will always be publicized on the Sun Chess Club website and emailed to previous participants.
New Jersey's Andrew Ng took first place in the 2009 U.S. Cadet Championship, July 7-10 in Crossville, Tennessee. Close behind was fellow NJ rising star Victor Shen, who won a grueling 150 move game against NM Rohan Agarwal to claim sole possession of 2nd place. If anyone has any games from the event (including the contestants themselves), please send them to me at michael.goeller@rutgers.edu. Links:
The number of FIDE rated juniors in the Bay Area shrunk dramatically after the graduation of a strong class of High School seniors. Consequently, 13 year old FM Danya Naroditsky (photo at left) climbs to the top spot with FM-elect Steven Zierk (photo at right) close behind. Special kudos to Steven for cracking 2300 FIDE and thereby earning the FIDE master title! Ironically, the two state K-12 co-champions Evan Sandberg and Yian Liou appear at the bottom of the FIDE rankings--a sure sign that they still have plenty of room for improvement as they both seek the master title.
FM Danya Naroditsky 2356
FM-elect Steven Zierk 2306
NM Gregory Young 2264
NM Rohan Agarwal 2197
NM Nicholas Nip 2147
Evan Sandberg 2146
Yian Liou 2134
Five FIDE rated local juniors graduated from High School in June. Congratulations to Adarsh Konda (2115), Alan Naroditsky (2113), Michael Zhong (2113) and Louiza Livschitz (1963) for each leaving their mark on Northern California chess. Of course, the big name in the graduating class of 2009 was IMSam Shankland (2448, see photo at right), who recently earned a pair of GM norms and now stands at the verge of the most prestigious title in the world.
NM Rohan Agarwal of Fremont sits in first place at the US Cadet Invitational (under 16) in Crossville, Tennessee. He beat Jarod Pamatmat (Texas) and Deepak Aaron (New York) and drew with Christian Tanaka (Southern California). All three of his young opponents are rated in the low 2200s; in fact, two earned the NM title within the past month. Master or not, they were unable to handle the wild tactical complications that Rohan prefers in all of his games. A special mention goes to Rohan's mentor Richard Shorman, who inspired his aggressive playing style. (Photo by Shorman at ChessDryad.)
Roster for US Cadet Invitational (age as of May 1, but the eligibility cutoff was Jan 1)
Victor Shen, 2320, 16, NJ
Deepak Aaron, 2216, 14, NY
Christian Tanaka, 2212, 15, CA/S
Rohan Agarwal, 2207, 16, CA/N
Jarod Pamatmat, 2201, 12, TX
Michael Yang, 2191, 14, MN
Andrew Ng, 2168, 14, NJ
Matthew Dahl, 2122, 15, MN
I will maintain round-by-round updates on my Twitter feed at the right sidebar of my blog. For more information, check out this press release and a brief report on Chess Life Online.
(Photos of nationally #1 ranked 8-year old Samuel Sevian on left and #1 ranked 7-year old Tanuj Vasudeva on right.)
This post contains two lists of the top juniors in Northern California on the July USCF rating supplement. These ratings include the CalChess Scholastics, Powell G/45 plus Spring Tuesday Night Marathon from the Mechanics Institute, and the Bay Area Chess Memorial Day tournament.
A whopping ten Northern California juniors are ranked in the top 50 of the USCF Top 100 Juniors (U21) list for June! For those mathematically challenged, this statistic means 20% of the nation's elite juniors play in the Bay Area!
Five of these ten stars are still in K-12 school; the other five attend local universities. In fact, four of the top 100 young chess players in the country can be found on the Stanford University chess team (see photo above). I guess that's just one more reason to get good grades and apply to Stanford. Except for those offering chess scholarships, I wonder if any other universities can match this feat?
#6 IM Sam Shankland, 2481, 17
#11 FM Elliott Liu, 2405, 19 (attends Stanford; from S. California)
#15 FM Danya Naroditsky, 2378, 13
#20 NM Steven Zierk, 2333, 15
#26 NM Daniel Schwarz, 2313, 19 (attends Stanford)
#36 NM Julian Landaw, 2284, 19 (attends UC Berkeley; from S. California)
#42 NM Drake Wang, 2262, 19 (attends Cal Poly SLO)
#46 NM Greg Young, 2249, 14
#48 NM Jimmy Heiserman, 2236, 20 (attends UC Davis; from Texas)
#50 NM Rohan Agarwal, 2231, 16
#53 NM Vaishnav Aradhyula, 2226, 18 (attends Stanford; from Arizona)
#96 Christopher De Sa, 2158, 18 (attends Stanford; from Arizona)
(Left: NM Rohan Agarwal and IM Sam Shankland. Center: FM Danya Naroditsky and NM Steven Zierk. Right: Vignesh Panchanatham and Cameron Wheeler.)
The USCF posted the June Top 100 lists, including all tournaments rated by May 1 and an age cutoff also on May 1. Please note that the CalChess Scholastics on May 2-3 did not make the cutoff and will be rated on the July rating supplement.
I also finally updated the CalChess Top 100 lists for the first time since last October. Sadly, nobody else appears willing to dedicate 2-3 hours every other month to maintain these rankings, leaving the dirty work to me. Gee thanks!
Nine Northern California players have earned my gold medal distinction for being ranked in the top 5 of the country for their age. Three kids are ranked #1 in June: Tanuj Vasudeva (1767 at age 7), Samuel Sevian (2003 at age 8) and the veteran FM Danya Naroditsky (2378 at age 13). Congratulations to these three stars and best of luck in pursuit of their goals (IM title for Danya, NM for Samuel and 1800 + 2000 for Tanuj). A fourth #1 would have been NM Nicholas Nip, but his USCF membership expired at the end of February and, regretably, his family and coaches apparently chose other activities.
The two highest rated high school students in the Bay Area, IM Sam Shankland and NM Steven Zierk, are both ranked #2 at their age. Two middle school students, NM Greg Young and CalChess K-12 championYian Liou, check in at #3. Finally, I would like to welcome National K-3 championCameron Wheeler and the "master gambiteer" NM Rohan Agarwal as they earn their first gold medals on my blog!
GOLD MEDAL (top 5) Tanuj Vasudeva (#1 age 7) Samuel Sevian (#1 age 8) Cameron Wheeler (#5 age 8) Yian Liou (#3 age 11) FM Daniel Naroditsky (#1 age 13) NM Greg Young (#3 age 14) NM Steven Zierk (#2 age 15) NM Rohan Agarwal (#5 age 16) IM Sam Shankland (#2 age 17)
Players ranked in the top 10 and top 25 of the country also deserve a special recognition. The names shown in bold and italics are all current or former students of mine. SILVER MEDAL (top 10) Rayan Taghizadeh (#7 age 6) Arun Khemani (#9 age 6) John Canessa (#10 age 7) Kesav Viswanadha (#9 age 9) Jack Zhu (#8 age 10)
BRONZE MEDAL (top 25) Alisha Chawla, Jeffrey Tao, Allan Beilin,Vignesh Panchanatham, Armaan Kalyanpur, Neel Apte, Kyle Shin, Daniel Zheng, Jerome Sun,Daniel Liu, Hemang Jangle, Hayk Manvelyan, Adarsh Konda, Michael Zhong
Top 10 trophies plus ties for 10th place Top 3 school teams Click for official Crosstables and USCF Rating Report Photos of top individuals plus top team (click on thumbnails to enlarge). Fpawn current students in bold. Primary -- Elementary -- Secondary 9-12 Championship
Yian Liou (6) 5.5 -- co-champion
Evan Sandberg (10) 5.5 -- co-champ and Denker representative
(CalChess High School co-champions Yian Liou and Evan Sandberg pose with trophies.)
The reason why I did not post the results from the last weekend's CalChess Scholastics is because I am overwhelmed and speechless. In 2006, three of my students took first in three different sections. This year, I have an amazing five CalChess champions! Woot!
Yian Liou and Evan Sandberg in K-12
Ted Xiao in K-8 (not really my student, but he lives in my city and attends club)
James Kwok in K-6
Daniel Liu and Neel Apte in K-5
Yian, a precocious 6th grader from Alamo, continued the local trend of kids playing up and then winning the K-12 section! In the final round, he defeated defending champion FM-elect Steven Zierk to claim his share of the title. He also beat third seed Adarsh Konda on the road to victory. After his recent results, including a pair of wins against my nemisis IM Ricardo DeGuzman, it seems very likely that Yian will become the next local master under the age of 18. He is also a bundle of energy, as became apparent after the last round when he joined my older students in bughouse.
Evan is more your typical high school student, a quiet yet very likable 10th grader from San Francisco. His recent tournament results have become increasing strong; in fact, he leads the Mechanics' Institute Tuesday Night Marathon heading into tonight's final round. In San Jose, Evan defeated second seed NM Rohan Agarwal, crushing the notorious Philidor counter gambit. Since Yian is not old enough, Evan qualified to represent Northern California at the Denker Tournament of High School Champions in Indiana this August.
James, Daniel and Neel represent some of the brightest young talents in the Bay Area. James is the veteran of the group and is co-captain of the 2009 National K-6 champion and 5-time state champion Mission San Jose Elementary team. Neel flew in under the radar, saving his best for the biggest weekend of the year. Daniel is the new kid on the block; he was rated in the 800s just 18 months ago, gaining 1000 rating points since!
The first entry fee deadline for the CalChess Scholastics is this coming Saturday, April 18! The region's biggest annual tournament will be held on May 2-3 at the Parkside Convention Center and Crown Plaza Hotel in downtown San Jose. I expect around 1000 players, including most of Northern California's top stars. Will you be there too?
About 600 players have registered to date, not including entries for the blitz and bughouse side events. The organizer encourages everyone to sign up early to decrease the stress of the last minute crunch. All entry fees will increase by $10 after Saturday night. If you haven't already, please register here as soon as possible.
If you're high rated and unsure which age group to play in, here's my advice: This is the state championship, the one tournament each year where you measure yourself against your peers. There's nothing wrong with shooting for the title of state champ! To that end, I only encourage a few elite students, generally those rated above 2000, to "play up" into the super competitive K-12 section. Another logical reason to move up would be if you won state or national titles within the past year.
I have compiled the following list of the top 20 juniors in Northern California. Half are already registered for the CalChess Scholastics and I expect 3 or 4 more to sign up soon. Unfortunately, some other kids have serious academic conflicts--this year's tournament dates could not really get any worse. :-(
CalChess Top 20 Juniors (April rating list with present or past students in bold)
IM Sam Shankland 2477 -- not playing due to US Championship!
FM Daniel Naroditsky 2341 -- signed up K-12
NM Steven Zierk 2311 -- signed up K-12
NM Gregory Young 2249
NM Rohan Agarwal 2215 -- signed up K-12
NM Nicholas Nip 2211
Adarsh Konda 2124
Michael Zhong 2092
Yian Liou 2082 -- signed up K-12
Hayk Manvelyan 2066
Evan Sandberg 2044 -- signed up K-12
Micah Cohen 2036
Alan Naroditsky 2035 -- signed up K-12
Jeff Young 2013 -- signed up K-12
Michael Lin 2001
Samuel Sevian 2001
Kyle Shin 1969 -- signed up K-12
Louiza Livschitz 1956
Nicholas Karas 1911
Daniel Zheng 1905 -- signed up K-6
On a side note, I will TD the blitz and bughouse tournaments once again this year. The blitz on Friday night offers a great opportunity to warm up for a weekend of chess. The bughouse on Saturday night is the perfect way to relax and socialize after a tough day of serious chess. I hope to see many of my students and other local kids, especially for the Friday night blitz championship! Schedule: on-site registration both days at 5:30-6:00 with round 1 at about 6:15. If all goes well, the K-6 kids will be done by 8:30ish and the 7-12 kids finish around 9:00.
(Here's a blast from the past. Daniel Schwarz and Drake Wang set up to play at the 2001 CalChess Scholastics in Santa Clara. Both were in 6th grade at the time; Daniel was rated 1675 and Drake was 1844. However, top seeded Alexander Setzepfandt took clear 1st place with 5.5 out of 6, drawing with Schwarz in the final round.)
It has long been established that Northern California is a mecca for scholastic chess that can compete with the rest of the nation. The February Top 100 lists confirm this fact. Impressively, 13 local juniors and college students are ranked on the most prestigious ranking list for juniors: Under Age 21.
At the top, IM Sam Shankland (#7) does not require much of an introduction after winning both the CalChess State Championship and the World U18 Championship. Besides Shankland, the most impressive player over the past four months was NM Steven Zierk (#30), who gained 74 USCF points since Labor Day, thereby cracking 2300. See a photo of Steven from 2nd grade at right. The two youngest masters in the Bay Area are also well known to readers of this blog: 13 year old FM Danya Naroditsky (#17) and 10 year old NM Nicholas Nip (#70).
These rankings are also the last hoorah for the previous generation of junior masters, those who have now gone off to college. For many years, NM Daniel Schwarz (#25), NM Nicolas Yap (#27), NM Matthew Ho (#40) and NM Drake Wang (#49) dominated the local scene. Now Daniel and Matthew attend Stanford University together FM Elliott Liu (#15) from San Diego and NM Vaishnav Aradhyula (#60) from Tucson. Go Stanford!!
#7 IM Sam Shankland (2441)
#15 FM Elliott Liu (2398) - attending Stanford University from Southern California
#17 FM Danya Naroditsky (2358)
#25 NM Daniel Schwarz (2316)
#27 NM Nicolas Yap (2315)
#30 NM Steven Zierk (2308)
#37 NM Julian Landaw (2292) - attending UC Berkeley from Southern California
#40 NM Matthew Ho (2281)
#49 NM Drake Wang (2262)
#51 NM Gregory Young (2249)
#60 NM Vaishnav Aradhyula (2225) - attending Stanford University from Arizona
(Rohan Agarwal in deep thought at the CalChess Scholastics in San Jose last May.)
I will begin recognizing one deserving Northern California chess player each month who has achieved significant success within recent weeks or occasionally an accumulation over a longer time period. It is my pleasure to award the first Fpawn Blog Player of the Month to the Bay Area's newest National Master, 15 year old Rohan Agarwal from Fremont. By earning the hallowed title of Master at North American Open in Las Vegas, Rohan became the sixth Bay Area junior in K-12 to break 2200 USCF and also solified his spot among the elite of the nation (there are only about 35 masters under age 18).
Name: Rohan Agarwal
Title: National Master
Current ratings: 2212 USCF and 2190 FIDE
National ranking: #11 for age 15
CalChess ranking: #5 for age 12-17
First tournament: December 2002
First established rating: 1248 in November 2003
Last 12 months: gained 142 points in 65 rated games at 11 tournaments
Latest tournament: Scored 3.5/7 in Open at North American Open in Las Vegas for a 2335 performance, including win against IM Tate and a draw with GM Lein.
Biggest scalps: IM DeGuzman (9/07) and IM Tate (12/08)
Rohan learned how to play at Weibel Elementary School in Fremont under the tutelage of legendary coach Richard Shorman. Even today, Rohan enjoys the opening gambits that he first learned years ago and he is not afraid to essay the Philidor Counter Gambit or the Sicilian Wing Gambit even against masters. His style may be best described as tactical or even insane--I still remember a year ago when Rohan beat a master after playing Kh1 by move 20, which wouldn't have been too unusual except that he was black in that game!?
In a newsletter, longtime Weibel advisor Dr. Alan Kirshner wrote a moving tribute. "Rohan, under the mentorship of Richard Shorman at Weibel, accomplished a milestone. I congratulate Rohan not because he was trained better than other Fremont players, but because he worked harder and had the perseverance and determination to go all the way. I might add that he is also a great all around person. I know he will spend the remainder of his High School years teaching the students at his Elementary School alma mater. I look forward to seeing him, in the future, win many more titles." Coach Agarwal's (see photo at right) young proteges won first place team trophies in both 5th and 6th grade last month at the CalChess Grade Level Championships in Stockton.
The following crush from Las Vegas illustrates Rohan's attacking style. He chooses to mix it up against the iconic IM Emory Tate out of Philidor's defense. The sly IM quickly got an inferior position (16.Nb1 simply admits failure) and it went downhill from there. White's retreat 21.Bg2 lost instantly to Nxg2 followed by an invasion along the h-file.
A total of twelve juniors from Northern California now have official FIDE ratings published on the January 2009 list. Special kudos to my 15 year old student Evan Sandberg (photo above) for earning his brand new international rating. Evan's FIDE rating is even quite respectable at 2131, thanks largely to a master level performance at the Tuesday Night Marathon last summer. Way to go Evan!
The annual North American Open attracted 583 chess enthusiasts to Bally's Casino(above photo taken by official webmaster Chris Bird) at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. Between the Christmas and New Year's holidays, the city bustles with tourists, gamblers and revelers--plus a few wood pushers amongst the crowds. The winter weather offered a perfect excuse to spend long hours at the chess board (especially for those under the legal gambling age of 21). Everything, from the tournament hall to hotel rooms to restaurants, is conveniently located under one roof. In fact, you can walk from Bally's to France--or at least to the adjacent Paris Casino.
About 40 Northern California players and their parents took the 1 hour flight or drove for 8-10 hours. Fortunately, gas prices are quite reasonable now! Those who arrived in the evening on Christmas Day battled heavy traffic and even an ice storm, but the rest of the week was sunny and cold, but dry. Nine of my students showed up for their final chess competition of 2008.
The tournament began rather auspiciously. Nobody could have predicted that IM David Pruess and FM Daniel Naroditsky would each start 0-2 against substantially weaker opponents, yet as a testiment to their fighting spirit, they both recovered to finish above 50%. Somehow, all five of my students in the U2100 section lost in round 1, but one still ended up tied for third. Even I struggled with draws against two low experts, perhaps a consequence of a bout with the stomach flu.
Fortunately, the final results were far more encouraging. Below are some notable scores from local players. Please click on the link for the USCF ratings report.
IM Sam Shankland, 5.0 in Open (top U2500, see photo above)
IM David Pruess, 4.5 in Open
FM Daniel Naroditsky, 4.0 in Open
NM Steven Zierk, 4.0 in Open (broke 2300 USCF)
NM Michael Aigner, 4.0 in Open
NM Rohan Agarwal, 3.5 in Open (broke 2200 USCF)
Yian Liou, 5.5 in U2100 (tied for 3rd place)
Karim Seada, 5.5 in U2100 (tied for 3rd place)
Michael Da-Cruz, 6.0 in U1900 (tied for 2nd place)
Mukund Chillakanti, 5.5 in U1900 (tied for 5th place)
Samuel Sevian, 4.5 in U1900
Roland Zhu, 4.5 in U1900 (+137 rating pointsup to 1760)
Seid Seidov, 7.0 in U1700 (clear 1st place)
Rahul Desirazu, 5.5 in U1700
Merak Arriola, 6.0 in U1300 (tied for 2nd place)
Jeffrey Zhang, 5.5 in U1300 (tied for 5th place)
Rohan Kapre, 5.5 in U1000 (tied for 3rd place)
Five local juniors had an especially memorable tournament and deserve special recognition. Two won significant money and the other three all achieved rating milestones.
IM Sam Shankland tied for 7th place overall and earned top U2500 with 5.0/7. After a disappointing draw in round 1, he caught fire and beat his major rival IM Robert Hess with black and then drew GM Jaan Ehlvest. At least there's still room for improvement: Sam got schooled by GM Zviad Izoria in the penultimate round.
NM Steven Zierk (see photo at right) impressed with 4.0 against 7 FIDE titled players with an average rating of 2408 USCF. His highlights included a solid draw against GM Varuzhan Akobian, ranked #5 in the USA, and a crushing win against IM Emory Tate. Steven also can still improve: he lost quickly to IM Shankland in the final round.
Please join me in congratulating California's newest master, NM Rohan Agarwal! He had quite a memorable tournament, defeating IM Emory Tate and drawing with GM Anatoly Lein on his way to a 2335 performance. Rohan's style and opening repertoire always generate many exciting tactical slugfests.
Young expert Yian Liou no doubt has his eyes on the master title after he tied for third place in the U2100 section with a 2219 performance. He got a much needed kick in the rear end by losing round 1, but after five straight wins, he was on board 1 in the final round (a draw with section winner Jared Tan).
Las Vegas was my first opportunity to watch new student Roland Zhu (see photo at right) play. Suffice it to say that he left quite an impression, far exceeding my expectations by scoring 4.0/7 while playing up in the U1900 section. As a reward, his rating jumped from 1623 to 1760!
The winner of the Open section was--no, not me!--Grandmaster Giorgi Kacheishvili with 6.0 out of 7. He took control in the fourth round and never relinquished the lead, picking up three wins and two draws against fellow Grandmasters. Five GMs tied for second: Zviad Izoria, Melik Khachiyan, Alexander Shabalov, Julio Becerra and Jaan Ehlvest. Check out the interesting tournament blog by USCL's Blogger of the Year Chris Bird for further details and a few key positions from the top boards.
(Sam goes pink! At the 2005 National Grade Level Championships in Houston, TX, Sam Shankland outdid even his eccentric reputation by turning up for a round with a pink hairdo. How on earth could this punk earn the IM title just three years later!?)
After several corrections, the USCF has finally posted the December Top 100 lists. This supplement includes events rated by November 7, with an age cutoff on November 1.
The big news this month is that FIVE local players are now ranked #1 for their age. The readers of this blog have no doubt become accustomed to seeing FM Daniel Naroditsky (age 12) and NM Nicholas Nip (age 10) ranked at the top. Recently, Samuel Sevian (age 7) moved to the Bay Area and became an active participant in local tournaments. By the freak timing of birthdays, NM Gregory Young (age 13) assumes the top spot for his age each year in December, when IM Ray Robson turns 14 in late October and FM Naroditsky remains 12 until early November. (Remember that the magic date for these rankings is November 1.)
The final CalChess member to earn the #1 ranking is a well-deserving newcomer: World U18 co-Champion IM Sam Shankland (age 17). By gaining over 150 rating points and receiving the IM title, "Shankypanky" distinguished himself over the past year. In fact, the high school senior is now ranked #3 in the nation for K-12, behind only IM Robert Hess from New York and IM Robson from Florida. He's come a long ways since those days of pink hair.
GOLD MEDAL (top 5) Arun Khemani (#2 age 5) Samuel Sevian (#1 age 7) Tanuj Vasudeva (#5 age 7) NM Nicholas Nip (#1 age 10) Yian Liou (#3 age 11) FM Daniel Naroditsky (#1 age 12) NM Gregory Young (#1 age 13) IM Sam Shankland (#1 age 17)
Players ranked in the top 10 and top 25 of the country also deserve a special recognition. The names shown in bold and italics are all current or former students of mine.
SILVER MEDAL (top 10) Vignesh Panchanatham (#10 age 8) Kesav Viswanadha (#6 age 9) NM Steven Zierk (#6 age 15)
BRONZE MEDAL (top 25) John Canessa, Cameron Wheeler, Armaan Kalyanpur, Allan Beilin, Jack Zhu, Daniel Liu, Daniel Zheng, Kyle Shin, Jerome Sun, Sam Bekker, Andrew Yeh, Rohan Agarwal, Michael Lin, Adarsh Konda, Michael Zhong
The CalChess Top 20 lists have not been updated for the new supplement, but I can confirm the following youngsters as the Top 5 for 11 & under and age 12-17. I have had the personal honor of working with half of these talented students over the years.
