Gong Wins Class C at 2014 Chicago Class

Warren Junior Scholar and future NBA point guard Brian Gong won all five of his matches at the 2014 Chicago Class, completed June 20 in Wheeling, IL.

Brian's outstanding 5-0-0 performance skyrocketed his USCF rating above 1700 for the first time!

50 players competed in two or more rounds of the all-ages section, with one player finishing at 4.5, three players with 4.0 scores, and seven others at 3.5/5.

In the Class E competition, Kevin Cahill finished in a 7-way tie for fourth place with a 4.0/5 tally. Kevin's sole blemish was a fifth-round loss to the section champion, Prathik Kandimalla.

Also in that section, William Cahill boosted his rating above 1000 for the first time going 2-1-2 for 3.0 points out of 5. Tim Gong also posted a 3.0 total, with three wins.

William and Tim tied for 18th place out of 78 players competing in two or more rounds of the section.

In the Class D, Vrishank Ramnath finished strong with wins in rounds 4 and 5, compiling a 2.5 tally for the tournament. 45 players participated in more than one round, with Vrishank tying for 19th place.

Ramnath Ties for 3rd in K-1 Nationals in Dallas

Aurora Naperville Chess Club member Vrishank Ramnath continues his incredible year with a wonderful showing at the USCF Elementary Nationals in Dallas. Vrishank competed in the K-1 Championship section, winning six matches and losing only once in the next to last round to the eventual runner up. The first-grader tied for third place, taking home the fourth place trophy on tiebreaks.

Club members Alex Zhao and Neola Edwin fared well in the same section. Alex finished with 5.0/7, Neola posted a 4.0/7 score. Along with two others, Alex and Neola helped Downer Grove's Avery Coonley School win the 8th place team trophy in the national event.

Kindergartner Alex's 5.0 result was good enough to place him in a tie for 22nd place out of more than 300 juniors in the section.

Neola has seen her rating rise from 107 after the Illinois K-8 Championships in March to a provisional rating of 541 in just two months!  Keep up the good work, Neola (and keep practicing those "Pawn Wars"!).

The event featured four champion sections and five others, attracting over 2200 entrants. The competition was held May 9-11 in Dallas, TX.

Aurora Chess Club Members Excel at 2014 K-8 Championships

First Grader Vrishank Ramnath swept all seven rounds of the K-1 Section to claim the championship at the ICA's 2014 State Championships played March 15 and 16 in Schaumburg.

Vrishank defeated the highest-rated player in the section, Arthur Xu, in the 5th round, and finished off the tournament with a victory over kindergartner Alex Zhao in the final round. With the top tiebreak of the 5.5/7 finishers, Alex claimed the fourth place trophy in the section (out of 97 participants). 

Alex has since joined the ANCC club. Welcome Alex!

Vrishank managed to raise his USCF rating 168 points from the event, over 1100!  

Kevin Ho finished in a multi-way tie for 16th in the Grades 4-5 section, scoring an impressive 5.0/7. On tiebreaks, Kevin took home the second place trophy for fifth grade. Congrats to Kevin!  209 players competed in the Grades 4-5 division.

Brian Gong compiled a 5.5 score in the Grades 4-5 section, tying for 8th place, bringing home the 12th place trophy on tiebreaks. Brian's only loss was to eventual champion Shreya Mangalam.

By virtue of his official USCF rating over 1500 as a 9 year old, Brian was named to the prestigious Warren Junior Scholars Class of 2014. Congratulations, Brian!