South Carolina Scholastic Chess Championships 2024

Announcing the 2024 SC Scholastic Chess Championship, hosted at the University of South Carolina, March 2-3, 2024.  Online Registration Only, see https://scscholastic.com/ for details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15th Annual Michael Anderson Memorial SC Senior Open 2023 After Action Report!

The 15th Annual Michael Anderson Memorial South Carolina Senior Open tournament finished in a remarkable six-way tie for first place, and IM Dr. Alexander Matros has repeated as our Senior Champion on tiebreaks! Daniel Sheaf likewise led a three-way tie for the Under-1600 trophy. Congratulations!

Twenty-six distinguished gentlemen gathered at the Hilton Greenville hotel to resolve the matter of South Carolina’s Senior Champion. During Saturday night’s round two, for no extra charge we were all guests at the murder mystery dinner theatre show on the other side of the ballroom partition!

Tied with IM Matros at 3-1 in tiebreak order were NM Randal Ferguson, NM Mike Sailer, John Timmel (NC), Michael Sheaf (OH) and Daniel Quigley. Bruce Roth (NC) and Daniel Pollock each scored 2-2 to share the Under-1600 prize with Daniel Sheaf – congratulations!

A generous anonymous donor contributed funds for upset prizes. Daniel Quigley claimed the first one with his round four victory over James Altucher (GA), and Chris Chambers (GA) earned the second with his round one victory over NM Peter Bereolos. Daniel Quigley also purchased more chess books from the sales stand than anyone else, proving the direct connection between owning chess literature and tournament success!

We remembered long-time Greenville Chess Club member and 2012 SC Senior Champion Michael Anderson with a memorial display.

Thanks to the staff of the Hilton Greenville hotel for their prompt and proactive support of the playing site! Conference Services Manager Hannah Owen and Engineers Dan and Milan came through with extra lighting and services on short notice – we can’t do without you!

Thanks to Will Brown for assisting as Tournament Director, to Tomas Ramirez for help in setting up, and to National TD Kevin Hyde for assistance & training with the tournament management software! ThinkMove Chess Academy furnished the online registration and payment process – thank you Jazmine Waiters and Sean Miller! Drew Plyler provided the online announcements via SCCA!

Thanks as always to SCCA President David Grimaud for his supportive presence, and for his sponsorship via the good offices of Precision Tune Auto Care!

The rating report is online here: https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202311127262.0

 

ThinkMove Greenville October Scholastic Results!

Eighteen future-Masters turned out Saturday (10/28/23) at Green Charter School for the 4-round ThinkMove Greenville October Scholastic. Trophy winners were:

Seniors: John Robert McCollum & Ryan Roberge, 3.5; Angelina Soshkin, 2.0.
Juniors: Aaron Ding, Sebastian Roman, Bennett Gomes, 3.0.
Beginners: Brave Valitchka, 3.0; Aditya Jujuray, Ben Spallone, 2.0.

Thanks to Will Brown, Greg Frady and Roger Johnson for their assistance with set-up, take-down, and floor TD work in between! Rating report is here: https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?20231028783

 

The Columbia Chess Club is Moving to a Permanent Location!

We are excited to announce that the Columbia Chess Club will be opening a permanent location in December 2023. Construction is underway! With this location we expect to offer more events, new chess classes, and more tournaments! The new location will be 6169 A/B on St. Andrews Road. Click here to see the entire article which includes photos of the new construction and more!

 

 

Upstate Chess in the News!

"Upstate kings and queens: A look at those who unite the region’s chess lovers"
By Stephanie Mirah This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Post and Courier Greenville news article - click here

 

2023 South Carolina State Championships Results!

After Action Report, 84th Klaus Pohl Memorial SC Championships, 6-8 October 2023

Greetings, South Carolina Chess Horde!

The 84th Annual Klaus Pohl Memorial South Carolina Championships tournament is in the books! We saw a strong turnout of 85 players, including 58 from the home state, 8 from North Carolina, 6 from Georgia, and one each from Virginia and Florida.

Congratulations to our state champions!

Championship: NM Sam Copeland 3.5-1.5, on tiebreaks ahead of NM Mike Sailer and NM Benjamin Caiello. NM Pradhy Kothapalli of North Carolina actually led the tiebreaks overall and shared the prize fund equally, but is not eligible for the SC title. But still a most fitting finish for “the brains of the operation,” as Senior Life Master Klaus Pohl called Pradhy when they teamed up to win the Bughouse title in the May 2019 SC Chess Festival!

Under 1800: Tanay Sanghani, 4.5 – Go Greenville! – followed closely by Lincoln Boucher, Shamyn Stanley, and Adrian Wilder, each with 4-1!
Under 1400: Ryan Roberge, 4.5 – Go Greenville! - followed closely by Saharsh Koka, Ashika Nalamalpu, and Sahana Santosh, GA, each with 4-1!
Amateur Section – Trophy only: Tyler Murrah & Alexander Arkhipov, 3-1; William Roberts, Arnav Singh, Callister Kumaran, 2.5-1.5.

The annual business meeting saw the re-election of David Grimaud, Gene Nix, and Cornell White as President, Treasurer, and Secretary, respectively, and the new election of Sean Miller as Vice President of SCCA. Dr. John McCrary, past USCF Executive Director, supervised the elections, which also included David Grimaud and Gene Nix as SC delegates to USCF. Thanks to outgoing Vice President James Brandmair! The Charleston Chess Club recognized David Grimaud for his ongoing service, and the Columbia Chess Club announced the construction of a permanent building in which to conduct events and serve as the center of South Carolina chess!

Special thanks are due to Drew Plyler for untiring SCCA website support, and to Jazmine Waiters & Sean Miller of ThinkMove Chess Academy for facilitating online registrations and payments. SCCA Secretary Cornell White did yeoman service as Chief Assistant TD, and Brandon Jordan served energetically as a floor TD. Other assistant TDs were James Brandmair and Sean Miller. Grateful thanks to National TD Kevin Hyde for on-site TD training in tournament software management. And more thanks to the Columbia Chess Club for material support with extra clocks and sets, and for the absolutely superb prism-shaped raised-lettered board numbers!

And finally as always, David & Maureen Grimaud played many roles in supporting, advancing, and carrying through this tournament!
Thanks to Matthew Lamb of Hilton Garden Inn, and to all of the HGI staff for their prompt and responsive service on site!

Gene Nix, Organizer & Chief TD

Crosstables

 

Attorney Michael Moore

We are deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Michael Moore on September 13. He was a great chess dad to Eli and an ardent supporter of South Carolina chess for many years. If you can, please donate to help Eli: Fundraiser by Robert Moore : In Memory of Michael Moore - Please Support Eli (gofundme.com)

 

UpCountry Stone Open September 2023 Results!

GCC represented at Saturday’s Upcountry Stone Open in Anderson, presented by Knights of the Upstate! Greg Frady shared first place with NM Mike Sailer and former GCC regular Expert Sankar Jonnalagadda, each scoring 2.5-0.5 in the top Chessmood section. Adrian Wilder shared second place in the FYRE Pizza section at 2.5, and new GCC guy Alan Nabavizadeh scored 2-1. Thanks to Vic Iorga for organizing, and to Will Brown for assisting in directing! This year's event was held at St. Joseph Catholic School. Rating report: US Chess MSA - Cross Table for UPCOUNTRY STONE OPEN SEPTEMBER 2023 (Event 202309236142)

 

Notice of Name Changes to South Carolina Chess Tournaments

In order to commemorate the lives of LM Klaus Pohl and chess expert Michael Anderson, the following name changes to (2) SC tournaments have been affirmed. The South Carolina State Championships will now be named the "Klaus Pohl Memorial South Carolina State Championships". Similarly, the South Carolina Senior Open will be now be named the "Michael Anderson Memorial South Carolina Senior Open". These changes are long term and will begin this year.

 

Tunnelvision X Results! 7/8/23

Congratulations to the Columbia Chess Club for yet another superb Tunnelvision tournament, with 61 competing in the Xth edition! GCC’s Ford Duncan shared 2nd-4th places with 3-1 in the 1600+ Championship section, just behind NM Mike Sailer. Will Snyder held his own with 2.5. Zach Heyasat broke even in the U1600 mob, and Ryan Roberge’s 1-3 increased his rating. Well played gentlemen! Rating report is here: US Chess MSA - Cross Table for COLUMBIA TUNNELVISION X (Event 202307083912)

US Chess MSA Cross Table for Columbia Tunnelvision X (Event 2023070883912)
Photos: https://columbiatunnelvision.com/tunnelvision-x-jul-2023

 

IM Dr. Alexander Matros Wins 2023 Rapid & Blitz Championships!

The 2023 South Carolina Rapid & Blitz Championships gathered some of the top players from around the state to see who would be crowned this year's SC Rapid & Blitz Champion. From high atop USC's Capstone House overlooking the city, 4-time SC State Champion IM Dr. Alexander Matros (left) emerged victorious with not one but two 1st place trophies - one for the Rapid Tournament, the other for the Blitz Tournament. Dr. Matros finished with 6.5/7 pts and 11.5/14 pts respectively. Ninety-five players from six states competed in this year's two-part event held on April 1st at USC's Capstone House, 898 Barnwell St in Columbia. Congratulations to Dr. Matros on winning this year's prestigious Rapid & Blitz title!
The Columbia Chess Club, South Carolina Chess Association, and the Gamecock Chess Club would like to thank everyone who helped make this tournament a success! Thanks to all the players who make South Carolina a great state for chess! Special thanks to SC Chess VP James Brandmair and Brandon Jordan of the Columbia Chess Club for all their organizational and technical expertise! Don't forget to visit the event website scblitz.com which has over 500 updated photos.

Here are this year's Winners...

Championship Titles:

2023 SC Rapid Champion: IM Alexander Matros
2023 SC U1600 Rapid Champion: William Schmidt
2023 SC U1000 Rapid Champion: Andrei Medved
2023 SC Blitz Champion: IM Alexander Matros
2023 SC U1600 Blitz Champion: Luken Calas-Aguilar
2023 SC U1000 Blitz Champion: Andrei Medved

Congratulations to all of our new title holders!

Rapid Championship Prizes:

Open First Place: IM Alexander Matros
Open Second Place: GM Bryan Smith (PA)
Open Third Place: (Tie) NM Sam Copeland, Will Snyder
U1600 First Place: (Tie) David Solis (GA), William Schmidt
U1600 Third Place: (Tie) Aaryav Saha, Ross Simmons, Eshwar Kothapalli (NC), Luken Calas-Aguilar, Mark Ritchie, Paul Copeland, Stanley Sun (TX)
U1000 First Place: Andrei Medved
U1000 Second Place: Cameron Crawley
U1000 Third Place: (Tie) Ricky Panda, Josh Meisner, Manuel Hoffman

Blitz Championship Prizes:

Open First Place: IM Alexander Matros
Open Second Place: GM Bryan Smith (PA)
Open Third Place: Will Snyder
U1600 First Place: (Tie) MD Masud-Ul-Alam (GA), Stanley Sun (TX)
U1600 Third Place: David Solis (GA)
U1000 First Place: Andrei Medved
U1000 Second Place: (Tie) Dheer Chheda, Sam Jerauld

SC Rapid Tournament Crosstables | SC Blitz Tournament Crosstables | SC Blitz Website

 

2023 SC Scholastic Chess Championship Results!

On Saturday, March 4, 2023, 240 future Masters and their families met at Hampton Park Christian School in Greenville to settle the matter of representative Scholastic Champions of South Carolina!

We opened with a remembrance of young Aditya Dias, an enthusiastic player who competed frequently in South Carolina during 2010-2017, and who was a regular at the Greenville Chess Club along with his sister Neha. Aditya represented South Carolina in the Barber Tournament of State Middle School Champions, held in Orlando, Florida, in July 2014. Always an optimistic chess player, Aditya was a well-rounded student and athlete skilled in lacrosse, martial arts, soccer, electronics, and many games. He completed a semester at High Point University in Cary, NC, before tragically losing his life in December 2022. Through the good offices of Mark and Meredith Indermauer’s Chess Foundation, Aditya’s family has very generously donated funds toward our representatives in the upcoming Tournaments of Scholastic State Champions, Denker (HS), Haring (Young Ladies), Barber (MS), and Rockefeller (ES), to be held alongside the US Open in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Please remember cheerful Aditya Dias and give your thoughts and prayers to his family, Augustinho, Nisha, and Neha.

This year’s leaders in tiebreak order are:
High School 9-12 (68): Ford Duncan & Allen Hong 5.0: Jacob Stoll, Eli Moore, Ahan Shi, Benjamin Webb, Alexander Myrick, Max Tong, 4.0; Mark Ritchie, Will Snyder, Hussain Godhrawala, Yejoon Shin, Joshua Barrus, 3.5.

Young Ladies K-12 14): Uyen Tran & Ashika Nalamalpu & Aadya Gowdra, 4.0; Adalyn Schley, Amoolya Vikas, Teagan Mann, Aadya Shivakumar, 3.0; Ritika Sanghani, Eliana Schley, Deeksha Ekbote, Brooklynn Hammond, 2.0, Clover Lao 1.0.

Middle School 6-8 (56): Caton Tsao, 5.0, Cameron Wheeler, 4.5; Nikolai Webb, Jonathan Gao, Aadi Agnihotri, Adrian Wilder, Luke Dziorny, Adam Schoonveld, Makai Blanding, Jonah Duncan, 4.0.

Elementary School K-5 (56): Aaryav Saha & Tanay Sanghani & Aaron Wang 4.5; Akul Gowdru, Aditya Seshan, Dhruvan Buddannagari, Prithvi Saravanakumar, Jethin Bastin, Roy Tamaghna,4.0, Saharsh Koka, Robert Shim, 3.5.

Primary K-3 (46): Diya Balamurugan 5.0; Medhansh Nalamalpu, Vladyslava Rybachenko, Nico Stamos, Saatvik Prasanna, Samvit Reddy, Joshua Woodlief, Charlotte Jordan, Aayansh Bhakta, Vihaan Potuganti, 4.0.

Leading teams were:
High Schools: Daniel HS 15.0; Governor’s School of Science & Mathematics 13.0; Chirst Church Episcopal School, 12.5.

Young Ladies: Hampton Park CS: 5; Mauldin MS 4; Indian Land 4.

Middle Schools: Home Schools 14; Cario MS 11.5; Edwards MS 11

Elementary Schools: Charles Pinckney ES 13; Hampton Park CS 12; Monarch ES 9.5..

Primary Schools: Gold Hill ES 14; Charles Pinckney ES 11; Pleasant Knoll ES 11; Monarch ES 10.5.

Many thanks to David Whatley, who presented the Girls with Respect, Integrity and Tenacity (GRIT) Award to the Young Ladies section runner up Ashika Nalamalpu, in behalf of the Tori Whatley Chess Initiative. Mr. Whatley also recognized past recipients. Thank you sir for your ongoing support of Scholastic Chess in South Carolina!

89 of 240 contenders joined USCF since December, and 77 played their very first Regular-rated tournament. 34 young ladies competed. The future of chess in South Carolina looks very promising!

Such a tournament requires a tremendous amount of motivated volunteerism to function. Warmest gratitude and thanks go to the following great folks:
Michelle Schley: Site hostess, HPCS Chess Club, Set-up.
Jazmine Waiters: Online Entry Processing, TMCA.
Drew Plyler: Online Announcements, SCCA.
Will Brown: Certified Chief Assistant TD, Section Chief TD, Set-up.
Matthew Leys: Certified Section Chief TD, Check-In Table, Set-up, Really Nice Board Numbers.
Vic Iorga: Certified Section Chief & Floor TD, Knights of the Upstate CC.
Mykael Quinones: Certified Section Chief & Floor TD.
Stu Chagrin: Volunteer Floor TD.
Rick Hubbell: Volunteer Floor TD.
Hernestina Nix: Set up & book stand.
And of course,
David Grimaud: SCCA President, Online Entry Processing, Crowd Control, Floor TD, Cheerleading.
And warmest thanks to the chess families and coaches who encourage their children’s efforts, and who brought them to play chess on a sunny spring Saturday! See you all next year!
The rating report is here: https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202303043782.0
Gene Nix, Tournament Functionary

 

2023 Scholastic Tune-Up Results!

The 2023 Scholastic Tune-Up was a success, with 46 fearless competitors fighting over the boards at Lexington Elementary School this past Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023.. Please check out the photo gallery linked below for shots of those game faces. We are excited to see that scholastic chess is alive and well in the midlands, and we endeavor to see more scholastic chess offerings in the near future! If you don't already, also consider coming out to our kid-friendly Thursday night meetings at Firefly Toys and Games (see details at www.columbiachess.org).
Best of luck to everyone the best at next week's Scholastic State Championship! If you have any feedback for us on how we can improve these events or on what we did well, please let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Awards:
Grade K-5
1st Place: Aaryav Saha
2nd Place: Krithik Kummari
3rd Place: Tamaghna Roy
4th Place: Aarush Panda
Team 1st: Lake Murray Elementary School
Team 2nd: New Providence Elementary School
Team 3rd: Ballentine Elementary School
Grade 6-8
1st Place: Brayden Van De Graaff
2nd Place: Arthur Simons
3rd Place: Matias Bedoya
4th Place: Arjun Kargool
Team 1st: Stallings Island Middle School
Team 2nd: Lakeside Middle School
Grade 9-12
1st Place: Mark Ritchie
2nd Place: Dheer Chheda
3rd Place: Trenton Manzi
Team 1st: Camden High School
Photo Gallery: https://columbiachess.org/feb-25-scholastic-tune-up-1
Crosstables

 

48th Annual Snowstorm Chess Tournament Results!

The 48th Annual Snowstorm Chess Tournament was successful with 74 participants, which was the highest number for any Snowstorm Chess Tournament. Chess players were divided into two sections: individuals rated 1,500 and above, and competitors rated below 1,500. Matthew Rogers won the top section, and Corey Burton won the second section.

Cornell White was instrumental in organizing and directing the tournament. On the day of the tournament, two other trained tournament directors, Corey Burton and Clayton Hansen, provided invaluable service in managing the tournament. The Charleston Chess Club appreciates the use of the Education Building of Bethel United Methodist Church.

Click here for Crosstables.

James M. Bickley
President, Charleston Chess Club

 

Three New Tunnel Vision Tournaments - Enhanced Grand Prix!

Announcing Q2 2023 Tunnelvision Dates, now a Grand Prix Event! We want to take a moment to thank all of our past players for their continued involvement in Tunnelvision. Your support has allowed us to make improvements at each event and introduce new technology and raise the prestige of the tournament. We are now proud to announce that Tunnelvision is becoming a part of the USCF Grand Prix circuit as an Enhanced Grand Prix Event. Starting with Tunnelvision VII, 12 Grand Prix points will be awarded to first place in the Championship section. We've also made a couple of tweaks to make the tournament experience even better. Starting with Tunnelvision VII, the lowest section will now be U1000 in hopes of evening out the distribution of players, since we've seen lots of new players make Tunnelvision their first tournament. Additionally, now that we have more experience with the venue, starting with Tunnelvision VII we've extended our $40 standard registration so that the $50 late registration will only apply the day before. Here's to more great chess in South Carolina! Please register through the links below:
Tunnelvision V: February 18, 2023
Tunnelvision VI: March 18, 2023
Tunnelvision VII: April 22, 2023 (Enhanced Grand Prix Event)
Tunnelvision VIII: May 20, 2023 (Enhanced Grand Prix Event)
Tunnelvision IX: June 17, 2023 (Enhanced Grand Prix Event)

James Brandmair

 

Chess At The Park Results! 12/10/22

The Chess At The Park Scholastic tournament at Hampton Park Christian School is in the books! "Well-played" to the 57 future Masters and 16 more proto-future-Masters, 23 of whom played in their first-ever rated chess tournament! Congratulations to the following top finishers, in tiebreak order:

K-12/Open:  Tanay Sanghani, 5-0; Bradon Schley & Aiden Costanzo, 4-1; Callum Leys & Eliana Schley, 3-2; Henry Zgonc, 2.5-2.5.

K-8/Under 1000:  Clara Hubbell, 5-0; Adalyn Schley & Makai Blanding, 4-1; Ethan Graham & Tinsley Bracken, 3-2; Kayla Brown, 2-3.

K-6/Under 800:  Aadya Shivakumar, 5-0; Aadya Gowdra & Brooklyn Hammond & Elijah Heindl, 4-1; Caleb Woodlief & Penny Zgonc & Levi Martin & Carson Bates & Caidon Munson & Aran Zhang, 3-2

K-3/Under 600: Ann Zgonc, 5-0; William Smithers, 4-1; Saatvik Prasanna & Joshua Woodlief & Robert Zgonc, 3-2.

Non-USCF Beginners: Luke Scherdt, 4.5-0.5; Shiloh Dik, 4-1; Logan Schott, 3.5-1.5; Ryan Spearman & Matthew Wooster & JP Carter & Michael Jennings, 3-2.
Warmest thanks to Michelle Schley of HPCS for organizing the tournament, and to Assistant TDs Will Brown, Matt Leys, and Vic Iorga, and to volunteers Greg Frady, Rick Hubbell, and Bhavin Sanghani for all they did to keep the tournament on schedule and on the light & dark squares!  

Rating report is here: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202212107692

 

14th Annual Klaus Pohl Senior Open 2022 Results!

Congratulations to NM Wayne Christensen (SC) as the state's 2022 Senior Champion. He tied for 1st place with FM Peter Boreolos (TN) at the 14th Annual Klaus Poll SC Senior Open. Each had 3.5 points out of four rounds in a very strong field of thirty-three players, the largest turn-out in the history of this event.

NM Christensen will have a chance to represent the state at the 2023 Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions to be held in conjunction with the US Open in Grand Rapids, MI, from July 29 - August 1.

Note from David Grimaud, President of the SCCA: " I had proposed a final championship match between the winner of this tournament and the standing senior champion to determine a final state champion. However, that was inappropriate as it wasn’t announced in advance. My personal apology to all those players for the surprise announcement at the site on Saturday. You deserve better."

 

Special Edition - Grandmaster Elshan Moradiabadi Visit!

Happy November Greetings, blockading Greenvillians!

The usual weekly note will sail in due time, but this is a “warning order” to postpone your travels, classes, dates, etc. as GCC will host a special visit by Grandmaster Elshan Moradiabadi next week!

Date: Thursday, November 10, 2022, 6-10PM

Place: La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Greenville Haywood, 65 West Orchard Park Drive, Greenville, SC 29615

GM Elshan Moradiabadi will present a lesson, and he will take on all challengers in a simultaneous exhibition. Write down your game and collect a GM autograph, and/or bring your autograph-collecting board! GM Moradiabadi is this year’s US Open co-winner, sharing 1st-2nd places at the 122nd US Open. His current FIDE rating is 2534, USCF 2627, with a personal best of FIDE 2603.

Elshan Moradi - Wikipedia
Elshan Moradi Abadi (Persian: الشن مرادی آبادی, born 22 May 1985) is an Iranian-American chess grandmaster...

To offset the meeting room rental, we ask a nominal admission fee:
Attendance: $2. Family bulk rate: $6 maximum for 3+ attending.
If playing in the simul, then $5 instead. Please bring a set if you have one. These exhibition games are not rated, and no USCF membership is required.
Huge thanks to SCCA President David Grimaud for making this happen!
Book up your Scholar’s Mate defense, and then learn from a Grandmaster!

Gene Nix
President, Greenville Chess Club
Treasurer, SC Chess Association
Life Member, US Chess Federation
Certified Local Tournament Director

Greenville Fall Scholastic Report by Matthew Leys

So we had a wonderful Greenville Fall Scholastic tournament at Green Charter School on Saturday! Here is Matthew Leys’s FB post on the matter (copied & pasted):
A big thank you to Green Charter School for hosting last Saturday's tournament which had a total of 54 eager competitors, from first-time participants to those who've competed in 100+ tournaments. For our more seasoned competitors, it was great to get back into the groove of larger competitive tournaments. For our newer chess practitioners, we trust it was an appetizing first taste of what competitive chess can be like!
And, as always, a big thank you goes to our resident tournament director extraordinaire, Ernest Nix, who pulled the whole event off seemingly without a hitch!

Click here for Official USCF Rating Report!

Rated K-12 Top Finishers:
1st: Will Snyder (4.5 pts)
2nd: Tanay Sanghani (4.0 pts)
3rd: Benjamin Webb (3.5 pts)

Rated K-8 Top Finishers:
1st: Ritika Sanghani (3.0 pts)
2nd: Kaan Kartin (2.5 pts)
3rd: Charlotte Leys (2.0 pts on tiebreak)

Rated K-6 Top Finishers:
1st: Steven Cruz (4.5 pts on tiebreak)
2nd: Brooklynn Hammond (4.5 pts on tiebreak)
3rd: Ezekiel Viscomi (4.0 pts)

Rated K-4 Top Finishers:
1st: Garrett Hamm (3.0 pts on tiebreak)
2nd: Saanvi Chimmiri (3.0 pts on tiebreak)
3rd: Nolan Sheih (2.0 pts)

Casual Beginners Top Finishers:
1st: Avi Lahoty (5.0 pts)
2nd: Ved Lahoty (3.5 pts on tiebreak)
3rd: Davis Eaker (3.5 pts on tiebreak)

 

After Action Report, 83rd SC Championships, 7-9 October 2022!

Greetings, South Carolina Chess Ranks and Files!
The 83rd South Carolina Championships tournament is in the books! We saw a strong turnout of 94 players, including 58 from the home state, 18 from North Carolina, 14 from Georgia, and two each from Tennessee and Florida. 95 players if one includes the TD’s extra rated game in round one, and undoubtedly one should.
Congratulations to our state champions!
Champion: NM Mike Sailor on tiebreaks (shown holding trophy w/SCCA Pres. David Grimaud) ahead of Uthra Pakkirisamy and Roger Johnson.
Under 1800: Aaron Wang, on tiebreaks ahead of John Roberts.
Under 1400: Lincoln Boucher, on tiebreaks ahead of Logan Fisher and Noa Miller.

Prize winners were:
Championship: Andrew Wu, NC - 4.5; Mark Biernacki, NC & Ethan Liu, NC - 4.0; Andrew Park, GA - 3.5; Mike Sailer, Uthra Pakkirisamy, & Roger Johnson – 3.0
U1800: Karthik Malireddy, NC – 4.0; Aaron Wang, Lakshmi Morgan, GA, Brian Farr, GA, John Roberts – 3.5
U1400: Lincoln Boucher, Logan Fisher, Noa Miller – 4.5; Kia Safai, GA, Alexander Lishchuk, SC, David Hill, SC - 4.0; Sahanna Santosh, GA – 3.5
Amateur Section – Trophy only: Ruth Hinchman, TN; Joshua Barrus, SC; Darris Williamson – SC; Raahithya Shaiva, NC; Diya Balamurugan, SC.

The annual business meeting saw the re-election of David Grimaud, Gene Nix, and Cornell White as President, Treasurer, and Secretary, respectively, and the new election of James Brandmair as Vice President of SCCA. Dr. John McCrary, past USCF Executive Director, supervised the elections, which also included David Grimaud and Gene Nix as SC delegates to USCF. Thanks to outgoing Vice President James MacDougall!
Special thanks are due to Drew Plyler for untiring SCCA website support and on-site tournament directing assistance, and to David Acosta of ThinkMove Chess Academy for facilitating online registrations and payments. SCCA Secretary Cornell White did yeoman service as Chief Assistant TD, and Brandon Jordan served energetically as a floor TD. Other assistant TDs were James Brandmair, Robert Webb, and William Bowman. Thanks to the Columbia Chess Club for material support with extra clocks and sets, and for the absolutely superb prism-shaped raised-lettered board numbers!
And finally as always, David & Maureen Grimaud played many roles in supporting, advancing, and carrying through this tournament!
Thanks to Matthew Lamb of Hilton Garden Inn, and to all of the HGI staff for their prompt and responsive service on site!

 Crosstables

 

Keith V. Eubanks (September 27, 1965 - September 23, 2022)

The SC Chess family mourns the loss of CM (Candidate Master) Keith V. Eubanks. Keith was known for his dynamic style of play and was a familiar face among high level SC chess players for over 20 years. He was a graduate of Eau Claire High School and Midlands Technical College. More information can be found here.

 

Tunnelvision Tournament Series

The Columbia Chess Club has announced the Tunnel Vision Series as a recurring monthly tournament serving chess players in South Carolina and surrounding locales. The tournament aims to be held on the middle of each month as a 4-Round G/45;d5 event. Live results/standings and DGT LiveCloud broadcast of the top board(s) are expected at each tournament. Registration is limited based on equipment and venue, see individual tournament details for more information. The Tournament will be held at the First Church of the Nazarene, 901 St. Andrews Rd., Columbia, SC 29210. See schedule below.

Tunnelvision I - Saturday, October 22, 2022
Tunnelvision II - Saturday, November 12, 2022
Tunnelvision III - Saturday, December 17, 2022
Tunnelvision IV- Saturday, January 21, 2023
Tunnelvision V - Saturday, February 18, 2023
Tunnelvision VI - Saturday, March 18, 2023

 

 

The Columbia Open 2022 - Saturday, August 6th

The 2022 Columbia Open is right around the corner! Unlike previous years, this year's tournament will be held at the First Church of the Nazarene, 901 St. Andrews Road in Columbia. Please register online if possible - just click this link https://columbiaopen.com for registration/payment and all the latest details. If you plan on registering on-site (the day of the event), please be at the church between 8am-9:45am. The official on-site registration cut off time will be 10:15am. The top board of the championship section will be broadcasted live via the DGT LiveChess Cloud.

An active USCF Membership required for this event. If you need to renew or obtain a USCF membership, please visit https://new.uschess.org/join-us-chess.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

SC Chess Players Make Trip to Asheville NC - June 18th

Seven South Carolinians ventured to Asheville for the June Mini-Swiss, wherein 36 competed. Brian Mapakamise and Caton Tsao shared 1st-3rd places with 2.5 of 3 points. Robert Webb of Columbia scored the upset of the day, and Kyle Bennett and some other guy vied in the top section. Nalin Gupta took clear first place with 3-0 in the Under-1200 mob, and Bruce Stevens, no longer of Colorado, gained valuable experience. Thanks to Bruce Roth for organizing and directing! Rating report is here: US Chess MSA - Cross Table for ASHEVILLE MINI SWISS JUNE 2022 (Event 202206187182)

 

People's Bank Open Chess Tournament Results!

Congratulations to Sankar Jonnalagadda and Daniel Flaaten on sharing first place in the top Peoples Bank section of the Peoples Bank tournament in Anderson Saturday, May 14! Adrian Wilder was first in the middle Upcountry Stone section, and Aadya Gowthra took clear first in the Kids U800 Fyre Pizza section. 28 competed in the three rated sections, and another nine players tested the pawn-infested waters in the non-rated Kitchen Emporium section won by Alexander Lishchuk. Well done to organizer Vic Iorga of Knights of the Upstate, and many thanks to assistant directors Will Brown and Ani Agnihotri and Gene Nix! Rating report is here: https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202205140762.0

 

South Carolina Open Results! After Action Report

Greetings, South Carolina Chess Horde!

The 2022 South Carolina Open tournament is in the books! Sixty-five players, some from North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and West Virginia, converged on Greenville to swap pawns with the locals at Hilton Garden Inn (May 6-8).

Greenville’s own Roger Johnson (Left) repeatedly fought back from rough positions to finish in clear first place with 4.5 points in the Open section! He was closely followed by Justin Arnold (KY) and Michael Sheaf (OH), each with 3.5. Pradhy Kothapalli (NC), Rex Blalock (GA), and SC High School Champ Jacob Stoll each scored 3.0 to share the U2200 prize.
Grayson Cooke (GA) scored 4.5 to win the Under-1800 group, followed by South Carolinians Dan Quigley, Daniel Sheaf, and Brian Mapakamise sharing 2nd-4th places. Scoring 3.0 were Joseph Baker (WV), Caton Tsao, and Kevin Dunn.
Daniel Flaaten’s 4.5 points earned clear first place among the U1400 mob, followed closely by SC Elementary School Champ Tanay Sanghani’s 4.0. Sharing 3rd and 4th places with 3.5 were Nikolai Webb and Raymond Tu (GA). Alexander Woodfin won the Unrated prize while sharing 5th-10th places at 3.0.
John Santopietro led the pack with 3.5-0.5 in the Amateur section, followed by, in tiebreak order, Pragnya Kothapalli (NC), Olivia Watkins, Jonathan Gao, and Dheer Chheda, all with 3.0!
A dozen Greenville Chess Club regulars competed, and three of these took first prizes in their sections - so those G/15, d3 Thursday night tournaments are paying off!
Warmest thanks to Chief Assistant Will Brown for his labors in keeping the tournament orderly, and to Drew Plyler for posting registration updates at the South Carolina Chess Association web page. Robert Webb established ThinkMove Chess Academy’s online registration facility, and SCCA President David Grimaud supported the SC Open project throughout!

The friendly staff at Hilton Garden Inn, Brandy, Jodi, Amanda, Wayne, and Joseph, seamlessly kept us in lights and water. Amanda’s first-time at opening the room divider Saturday afternoon was the strongest move of the weekend.
The rating report is here: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202205088562.0
Gene Nix
Organizer & Chief TD

 

South Carolina Scholastic Championships 2022! After Action Report

On Saturday, April 2nd, 2022, 155 future Masters and their families met at Hampton Park Christian School in Greenville to settle the matter of representative Scholastic Champions of South Carolina! Congratulations to Jacob Stoll (High School), Grace Bajarias (Young Ladies), Miguel Shim (Middle School), Tanay Sanghani (Elementary School), and Ibrahim Riyaz (Primary) on their respective victories in their sections! (Photo Left – Grace Bajarias, Jacob Stoll)

This year’s leaders in tiebreak order are:
High School (59): Jacob Stoll 5.0; Ford Duncan 4.5; Matthew Johnson, Shamyn Stanley, Ahan Shi, Sai Kanha Kummari, Allen Hong, Toby Cox, & Mark Ritchie 4.0; Eli Moore, Ethan Ellis, & Sahildeep Singh 3.5.

Young Ladies (16): Grace Bajarias & Ritika Sanghani 4.0; Uyen Tran & Charlotte Leys 3.5; Madelyn Wilder, Paola Gonzalez, Olivia Watkins, Harshini Jeyaradurai, & Eliana Schley 3.0; Clara Hubbell, Aadya Gowdra, Adalyn Schley, & Brooklyn Hammond 2.0.

Middle School (24): Miguel Shim 4.5; Will Snyder, Eric Shi, & Adrian Wilder 4.0; Caton Tsao 3.5; Evan Johnson, Ashika Nalamalpu, Aiden Clark, Cameron Wheeler, Dheer Chheda, Michael Benson, & Jackson Moore 3.0.

Elementary School (33): Tanay Sanghani 4.5; Saharsh Koka, Kyle Kartin, & Justin Peng 4.0; Aadi Agnihotri, Aaron Wang, James Frassica, & Jonathan Gao 3.5; Zachary Rivera, Callum Leys, Benjamin Piazza, Robert Shim, Daksh Chheda, Arvin Gummeneni, & Beau Stamos 3.0.

Primary (23): Ibrahim Riyaz, Charlotte Jordan, Medhansh Nalamalpu, & Elijah Heindl 4.0; Diya Balamurugan 3.5, Titus Heindl, Levi Martin, Finley Martin, Aran Zhang, Micah Poston, JohnFetterolf, & Jason Rodriguez 3.0.

Leading teams were:
High Schools: Daniel HS 15.0; Spring Valley HS 13.0; Hampton Park CS 11.5; Governor’s School of Science & Mathematis 11.0.

Middle Schools: Hampton Park CS 8.5; Wilder Academy 7.0; Wren MS 5.5; Charleston County Arts 5.0; McCants MS 5.0

Elementary Schools: Charles Pinckney ES 12.0; Sterling 11.0; Clemson ES 9.0; Hampton Park CS 6.0.

Primary Schools: Hampton Park CS 13.0; Charles Pinckney ES 7.5; Pleasant Knoll ES 5.5.

Young Ladies scores were applied to their respective school section scores.

Special honorable mention goes to Dr. Gordon Brown of the Governor’s School of Science and Mathematics for recruiting and bringing a thundering herd of nineteen high-schoolers, sixteen of whom played their very first tournament Saturday!

Continuing in that vein, since we love our chess statistics, 65 of 155 contenders played their very first Regular-rated tournament, and the great majority of these joined USCF within the past month! Section breakdown: HS 30 of 59; YL 5 of 16; MS 10 of 24; ES 10 of 30; Pri 10 of 23. All of this bodes most well for the future of chess in South Carolina!

Such a tournament requires a tremendous amount of motivated volunteerism to function. Warmest gratitude and thanks go to the following great folks:
Michelle Schley: Site hostess, HPCS Chess Club, Set-up, Restoring Lighting
David Acosta: Volunteer Floor TD; Online Entry Processing, TMCA representative.
Ani Agnihotri: Certified Floor TD; Check-In Table, Set-up
Arati Agnihotri: Scoring Table, Wall Charts
Liza Bajarias: Medallion Assembly, Scoring Table, Wall Charts
Will Brown: Certified Floor TD, Set-up
Stu Chagrin: Volunteer Floor TD
Rick Hubbell: Volunteer Floor TD
Vic Iorga: Certified Floor TD, Knights of the Upstate CC
Matthew Leys: Certified Floor TD, Check-In Table, Set-up, Really Nice Board Numbers
Leo Matros: Certified Floor TD, TMCA Representative
Hernestina Nix: Post-Event Chess-Set Stowage.
Drew Plyler: Online Announcements & Entry Processing.
Vidya Samadi: Scoring Table, Wall Charts
Lih Stoll: Scoring Table
Robert Webb: Certified Floor TD, TMCA Representative
And of course,
David Grimaud: SCCA President, Online Entry Processing, Cheerleading.
And warmest thanks to the chess families and coaches who encourage their children’s efforts, and who brought them to play chess on a sunny spring Saturday! See you all next year!
The rating report is here: https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202204022712.0
Gene Nix, Tournament Functionary

 

Think Move Chess March Scholastic Recap

There was a wonderful turn out for both the March Think Move Scholastic tournament, as well as the following training Camp. We had 13 players participate with ratings varying from unrated to over 1200. Mark Richie won the tournament with 3 out of 3 points (a perfect score!); Aaryav Saha came in second place with Dheer Chheda coming in third. Both players finished with 2.5 out of 3 points (tied w/placement determined by computer tie-break). All three players received trophies for their efforts!

International Master Alexander Matros conducted a very instructional chess camp, reviewing games played in the tournament, as well as a few notable examples of games in his life.

Think Move Chess would like to thank the 5 players that played in both the February and March Think Move Chess Scholastics. We hope to see you at our next Columbia event, "April Think Move Chess Scholastic", on Saturday April 16th at the Columbia First Church of the Nazarene located at: 901 St Andrews Rd, Columbia, SC 29210. - Robert Webb TMC Contributor

 

Upcountry Stone Open Results!

Thanks and congratulations to Vic Iorga on the success of the Upcountry Stone Open in Anderson last Saturday! Naturally it was chock-full with Greenville-area pawn grabbers. GCC’s Roger Johnson and young old friend Sankar Jonnalagadda, now of Georgia, tied for first in the top Upcountry Stone section with 2.5-0.5 each. GCC folks Daniel Flaaten and Chase Siuta each went 3-0 in the second Precision Tune Auto Care section.  Ian Neack scored 3-0 and Wade Robertson was just behind at 2.5 in the third Fyre Pizza group, and in the Kitchen Emporium Kids U800 section, Justin Peng led with 3.5-0.5, trailed closely by Madelyn Wilder, Jayden Wilder, and Jackson Moore each with 3-1!  The Wilder family had four of their own in the various sections – Josie, Adrian, Madelyn, and Jayden, and Mrs. Wilder did the beautiful calligraphy to make the prize chart a work of art to offset the hideous hand-scrawled round-times announcements somebody posted. And the Schley family represented in force – Bradon, Adalyn, and Eliana. And the Leys crew – Matthew, Callum, and Charlotte. And the Sanghani family – Bhavin, Ritika, and Tanay.  So play chess, and bring along all of your immediate family!  Greenville CC Pres. - Gene Nix

Crosstables

 

47th Snowstorm Special Results!

On Saturday, February 19, 2022, the 47th Snowstorm Special Chess Tournament was held in the Education Building of the Bethel United Methodist Church in downtown Charleston. The tournament was successful with sixty-one players competing. This was the highest number of players of any Snowstorm tournament. Read article

Crosstables

 

TMCA February Scholastic Results!

ThinkMove Chess Academy (TMCA) hosted it's first event in the Columbia area February Scholastic 2022 on Feb 26th at the Hilton Garden Inn (Harbison) in Columbia. Congratulations to Mark Richie of Airport HS on winning the tournament with a perfect score! Mark took home the first place trophy and was undefeated throughout. Congratulations also to Aaron Wang 3.0/4  who came in second and Evan Johnson 2.5/4 who finished third. Special thanks to IM Dr. Alexander Matros for providing TD services and game analysis! Thanks also to all Hilton Garden Inn Mgrs/Staff and to our tournament organizers.. .Leo Matros, SCCA President David Grimaud, Andrew Plyler, and Greenville Chess Club President Gene Nix! See crosstables below. 

Crosstables

 

Chess At The Park Scholastic Tournament 2021 - Results!

Thanks to all who made today's event at Hampton Park Christian School such a great event, esp. our favorite local tournament director, Ernest Nix, and the HPCS coordinator, Michelle Schley, accompanied by her great team of volunteers. We had a total of 60 participants from as far north as Virginia, and as far south as...click here to read the full Action Report (PDF) courtesy of Matthew Leys & Gene Nix.  //  Rating Report: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202112115922.0-16737141

 

2021 National K-12 Grade Championships

Congratulations to all our SC players (and a couple of honorary ones who moved to GA) who made the trip to Orlando, FL this past weekend (12/3-12/5) to represent our State! This year's Tournament was held in the luxurious Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel with 1,235 of the nation's best scholastic players competing! Special thanks to all players and family for making this year's trip! Thank you, David and Maureen Grimaud, for your steadfast work and support behind the scenes! SC Representative's this year were...
  1st Grade: Tanay Sanghani – 5.0 pts (13th place)
  5th Grade: Aadi Agnihotri – 3.5 pts; Ritika Sanghani – 3.0 pts
  6th Grade: Nandini Jonnalagadda – 2.5 pts; Sriman Yalamati – 2.0 pts
  7th Grade: Cameron Wheeler – 3.0 pts
  8th Grade: Sankar Jonnalagadda – 4.5 pts (25th place)

Crosstables

 

Extensions for Chess Coaches And Tournament Directors

The US Chess Executive Board has passed two motions that impact Chess Coach and Tournament Director certification. Both are extensions of current certifications due to the pandemic. Click here to read the motions.

 

13th Annual Klaus Pohl Memorial SC Senior Open 2021 - IM Alexander Matros Repeats as Champion!

International Master Dr. Alexander Matros won clear first place overall making him the winner of the 13th Annual Klaus Pohl Memorial SC Senior Open held this past weekend (Nov. 6-7) at the Homewood Suites Hotel in Greenville, SC. Michael Matson won the U1600 trophy. Click here to read the full Action Report (PDF) courtesy of Gene Nix.

Crosstables

 

IM Alexander Matros Wins 2021 SC State Chess Championship Title!

2021 SC State Championship Results are In! 
Congratulations Professor Matros! (L) Dr. Alexander Matros repeats as SC State Chess Champion by winning the Open section of this year's Championship tournament with a near perfect score of 4.5/5 pts! This is his fourth SC State Championship Title!!
************
After Action Report, 82nd SC Championships, 30-31 October 2021
Hilton Garden Inn (Harbison), Columbia SC

The 82nd SC Championships tournament is in the books, in which we enjoyed the largest attendance in recent memory: 86 pre-registered, and another 25 joined in on-site! (That’s 111 in all) We saw several old friends take up competition after years away from the game, and 35 players have very new USCF IDs in the “30 million” series – welcome to the tactile tactics of over-the-board play, new friends! Eighty-two Palmetto State residents competed, and nineteen from North Carolina, five Georgians, two Tennesseans, and one each from Florida, North Dakota, and Utah! So far does our drawing power reach! Please click here to continue reading Gene's report on this year's SC Championships (PDF).

Crosstables

 

13th Annual Klaus Pohl Memorial SC Senior Open 2021 - Scheduled for November

November 6-7, 2021
13th Annual Klaus Pohl Memorial South Carolina Senior Open, 2021
(ages 50+, born before 01/01/1972)

Early Entries List (PDF)

Homewood Suites, 102 Carolina Point Pkwy, Greenville, SC 29607,
864-297-9140; HR: $139 by 22 October 2021. Ask for chess rate.

Click here for more details...

(Note: Please select "By Year" on Calendar to see future events)

 

Results from Team SC at 2021 US Open - Denker, Barber, Haring, Irwin, and Rockefeller

Congratulations and a rousing cheer for our South Carolina participants in the US Open! IM Dr. Alexander Matros was within striking distance of first place going into the final round of the Irwin Seniors tournament, finishing 4.0/6; Eli Moore scored 2.5/6 in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions - a tough group! Helena Bajarias finished 3.0/6 in the Haring Nat'l Tournament of Girls State Champions earning two awards for round upsets, one of which was the largest of the event, overcoming a 597-point ratings difference!
Helena went on to play in the 2021 US Open Championship where she finished 3.0/9. Allen Hong finished 2.5/6 in the Barber Tournament of Middle School Champions which included a first-round draw with an Expert, a 487-point difference there. Allen also tied for 4th place in the Weeramantry Blitz tournament's 1400-1799 section, scoring 5.5/8 against all higher-rated opponents! Aadi Agnihotri held his own in the Rockefeller Nat'l Tournament of Elementary State Champions finishing 2.5/6. The combined results put South Carolina in 24th place of 48 state teams represented! Special thanks to on-site parent volunteers Ani & Arati Agnihotri, Liza Marie Bajarias, Mike Moore, Schwan Xuan, coach David Blair, and big-time make-it-happeners David & Maureen Grimaud for their national-level committee work especially with Senior and Women's chess, and for their ongoing leadership of chess in South Carolina! (excerpts taken from Greenville Chess Club News 08-05-21 - Thank you Gene Nix!)

Photo: SCCA Pres. David Grimaud (L), with Helena Bajarias,
Aadi Agnihotri, Eli Moore, and IM Dr. Alexander Matros

Crosstables for our SC State Champions in National Tournaments!
IM Alexander Matros 4.0/6 - Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions - http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202108036402
Eli Moore 2.5/6 - Denker National Tournament of HS Champions - http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202108036212
Helena Bajarias 3.0/6 - Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions - http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202108036302
Helena Bajarias 3.0/9 - 2021 US Open Championship - http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202108087902.0
Allen Hong 2.5/6 - Barber National Tournament of MS Champions - http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202108036312
Allen Hong 5.5/8 - Weeramantry National Tournament of State Champions - http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202107316082.3
Aadi Agnihotri 2.5/6 - Rockefeller National Tournament of Elementary State Champions - http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202108036342

"G.R.I.T. " Award Winner Ritika Sanghani - article by David Whatley

 

South Carolina Scholastic Girls Championship Results!

Congratulations to Helena Bajarias on her 3-0 victory in Saturday's SC Girls Scholastic Championship, held online under TD Dean Creech's direction! Helena will represent South Carolina in the 9th Annual WIM Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions, July 31 - August 3, alongside the US Open at the Crown Plaza Philadelphia-Cherry Hill. Ritika Sanghani took second place with 2-1, earning the Girls with Respect, Integrity and Tenacity (GRIT) award from the Whatley family, and will compete online in the 2021 Susan Polgar Foundation Girls Invitational (SPFGI) June 26-27. Charlotte Leys and Eliana Schley also competed - we will see you all in person next year! USCF report: US Chess MSA - Cross Table for SC GIRLS SCHOLASTIC (Event 202106117852)

 

2021 SC State Scholastic Tournament Results! Eli Moore New State Scholastic Champion!!!

On Saturday, April 17th, 2021, ninety-two of the State's brightest young chess players met online to compete for prizes, rating points, and titles. After a tough five rounds of play, Eli Moore came out on top and is our new South Carolina State High School Scholastic Champion of 2021!!! Congratulations Eli!! Eli finished with 4.5/5 points drawing only in the first round against determined competitor Aiden Costanzo (2.5/5).

Special thanks to SC Chess President David Grimaud, TD & VP Daniel Smith, TD Grant Owen & FM Peter Gianatos, also to all Lichess staff, and support volunteers! Thank you all parents, organizers, and coaches! Here are this year's Winners..

2021 Winners:
HIGH SCHOOL SECTION: Eli Moore 4.5 (1st), Jacob Stoll 4.0 (2nd by tie-break), Ford Duncan 4.0 (3rd), Ahan Shi 4.0 (4th), Matthew Johnson 3.0 (5th), Brandon Tregde 3.0 (6th), Brady Setser 3.0 (7th), Toby Cox 3.0 (8th), Alex Tabakian 3.0 (9th), Quinn Burt 3.0 (10th)

MIDDLE SCHOOL SECTION 6-8: Allen Hong 4.0 (1st by tie-break), Caton Tsao 4.0 (2nd), Lincoln Boucher 4.0 (3rd), Cameron Wheeler 3.5 (4th), Eric Shi 3.0 (5th), Zachary Teachman 3.0 (6th), Miguel Shim 3.0 (7th), Spencer Burke 2.5 (8th), Andrew Dou 2.5 (9th), Manith Bannenahally 2.5 (10th)

ELEMENTARY SECTION K-5: Aadi AgnihotrI 5.0! (1st), Justin Peng 4.0 (2nd by tie-break), Ritika Sanghani 4.0 (3rd), Jonathan Gao 4.0 (4th), Callum Leys 4.0 (5th), Michael Benson 4.0 (6th), Anton Oltmann 3.0 (7th), Benjamin Piazza 3.0 (8th), Charlotte Leys 3.0 (9th), Peyton Carithers 3.0 (10th)

PRIMARY SECTION K-3: Tanay Sanghani 5.0! (1st), Robert Shim 4.0 (2nd by tie break), Aaron Wang 4.0 (3rd), Titus Heindl 4.0 (4th), Aran Zhang 3.0 (5th), Aaryav Saha 3.0 (6th), Keys Pfeiffer 3.0 (7th), Elijah Heindl 3.0 (8th), Parker Leong 3.0 (9th), Silas Dewey 3.0 (10th)

TEAM WINNERS:
1st Team High School - D. W. Daniel High
2nd Team High School - Wando High
1st Team Middle School – R.C. Edwards Middle School, Clemson
2nd Team Middle School – Hampton Park Christian School
1st Team K-5 Elementary – Sterling School
2nd Team K-5 Elementary – Charles Pinckney Elementary
1st Team K-3 Primary – Hampton Park Christian School
2nd Team K-3 Primary – Charles Pinckney Elementary

 

Fine Designs Official Event Apparel for 2021 SC Scholastic Chess Championship!

SC Scholastic Championship T-Shirts, Hoodies, and more!
Choose from a variety of styles, colors, and sizes. Customizeable!
Click link below to go to online store.

Fine Designs - Official Event Apparel

 

 

2021 SC Scholastic Chess Championships Announced!

(Note: Changes may occur as more information becomes available; please check back frequently to featured articles for the latest details)

Date: Saturday,  April 17, 2021
(Save $5 by registering early; last day for discount 4/1/2021)

Location: Online via Lichess
(Lichess: Kids can go ahead and create a Lichess account now and play games or puzzles, however they will need to remember the account name and credentials for registering to the state tournament.) 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Event Page

Download Flyer

(This is a USCF rated event; USCF Membership required)

 

KLAUS A. POHL (1937-2021)

Lifemaster/National Master & Thirteen Time SC State Champion Klaus Pohl has passed away at age 83.

Dear Chess Friends,
We have lost a giant. The link below is to the Dignity Memorial for Klaus Pohl. I invite everyone to see it, and to contribute a memory in greeting to the family. Many thanks, and bless you all. - Gene Nix
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/greenville-sc/klaus-pohl-10031031#remembering

See additional post here...
https://www.facebook.com/officialgreenvillechessclub/

 

81st SC State Championship Invitational 2020 Results!

The 81st South Carolina Championship (Invitational) brought together five past SC Champions (six if one counts the TD’s shared 1st-3rd that year all the IMs were out of town). After five hard-fought rounds IM Alexander Matros (left) was the clear winner with 4.0/5 pts., followed by NM Mike Sailer 3.5/5 pts. (TB), NM Sam Copeland 3.5/5 pts., LM Klaus Pohl 2.0/5 pts., NM Randal Ferguson 1.5/5 pts., and Stephen Welt 0.5/5 pts. The contests included many exciting shifts of fortune, and that sequence could have, should have, would have looked different but for some time-pressure missteps. See the games here at SCCA!

COVID-19 precautions included daily temperature checks and health screening questions, face masks in the playing hall, inter-round cleaning of boards, pieces, and clocks, social distancing, hand sanitizer, and labelled chairs permanently assigned to players.

This year’s event was held (Sat. & Sun.) December 5th and 6th at the Aloft Columbia Harbison Hotel. Thank you Aloft workers and staff for helping make our event a success! Precision Tune Auto Care was this year’s sponsor and provided rooms and accommodations for out-of-town players. Thank you PTAC!! Thanks yet again to SCCA President David Grimaud for supporting and motivating us and for providing the many online updates, images, and pgn games!! In a most difficult and unique year for SC chess, hats off to Gene Nix for making everything go so smoothly. From setup, to coordinating/directing/checking, to keeping players up-to-date along the way and more, Gene did it all - and made it look easy! Thank you, Gene, for your most professional efforts!!

Crosstables

 

IM Alexander Matros Wins 2020 SC State Chess Championship Title!

Congratulations Professor Matros! Dr. Matros finished the tournament with 4 out of 5 wins! This is his third SC state championship title having won it previously in 2011 and 2013! Dr. Matros is a professor of economics at the University of South Carolina, Darla Moore School of Business.

 

2020 SC State Championship Tournament this Weekend!

South Carolina's top 2020 performers will be battling over the board this weekend for prizes and a shot at being named 2020 SC State Champion. The five round RR invitational will begin Saturday morning at 10am at the Aloft Harbison Hotel in Columbia. Best of luck to our six finalists (determined by invitation or playoff wins) - IM Alexander Matros, NM Sam Copeland, NM Mike Sailer, LM Klaus Pohl, NM Randal Ferguson, and Stephen Welt!

Saturday's results: IM Alexander Matros takes the lead with a perfect 3.0/3!! The final two rounds (4 and 5) will be played tomorrow. Click here for wall chart.

Click here for Flyer | Screening Questions

 

Online Qualifier Tournament - NM Randal Ferguson Wins! Ford Duncan 2nd!

Congratulations to NM Randal Ferguson and Ford Duncan! NM Ferguson came in 1st place (tie-break) in the Online tournament with reigning scholastic champ Ford Duncan coming in a close 2nd. Both players had perfect scores of 4.0/4 points each! They are now qualified (top two taken) to play in the SC State Championship final December 5-6 in Columbia. Unfortunately, Ford has declined his invitation to play in the final. Stephen Welt, who finished the Online tournament in 3rd place (3.0/4 points - TB), has accepted an invitation to play in Ford’s place. Twenty-Five players competed in the 4 round (round robin) Online Qualifying event held November 21st, 2020. The tournament's technical challenges were handled admirably by the expert staff. Thank you SCCA President David Grimaud and VP Daniel Smith for organizing the tournament. Special thanks to Chacha Nugroho for building the Chessstream website and to Grant Oen for being our (online) floor TD for the event! Congratulations to all six participants (listed below by rating) competing in this year's SC State Championship Tournament!

IM Alexander Matros
NM Sam Copeland
NM Mike Sailer
LM Klaus Pohl
NM Randal Ferguson
Stephen Welt

Crosstables | Games

 

Online Qualifier for the Final 2020 SC State Championship - $1125 in prizes

Dear SCCA Members and Friends,

This is the weekend, November 21st, of our four round ONLINE QUALIFIER for the 2020 SC State Chess Championship. The top two (winner and runner-up) will be offered the chance to sit in the final, six person, round robin on December 5 - 6, where each person is guaranteed a cash prize. ($1125 in total prizes)

You can enter the qualifier here: http://chess.stream/southcarolina/

You can find out further details of the State Championship by clicking here. Flyer - 2020 SC Championship

Thanks for your support and participation!

David Grimaud
President
South Carolina Chess Association

 

2020 Senior Championship - IM Alexander Matros Wins!

Over-the-board chess has not gone completely overboard, as proven in Greenville this weekend of November 14-15, wherein International Master Alexander Matros won the 12th SC Senior Championship with 4-1! This year’s event was a closed invitational limited to six contenders, although we had no shortage of seniors eager to meet in real life for tactics more tactile than virtual. The weekend’s adventures began with an emergency change of venue due to lighting problems in the Hampton Inn on Haywood Road, but the management quickly re-routed us to Homewood Suites off Woodruff Road – Thank you Sandra Solomon!

COVID-19 precautions included daily temperature checks and health screening questions, face masks in the playing hall, inter-round cleaning of boards, pieces, and clocks, social distancing, hand sanitizer, and labelled chairs permanently assigned to players.

Life Master Klaus Pohl was first to challenge the IM, and recovered from initial defeat to place clear second with 3.5-1.5. Douglas Holmes held his own by stopping Klaus in a 5^th-round draw, and ending the preliminary tie-break calculations at the TD station. This was after having drawn with IM Matros in round four, making for a reasonably effective chess Sunday for any A-player, while claiming a share of 3^rd-5^th places.  Defending 2019 champion Wayne Christensen and Randal Ferguson each scored 2-3 for their share of 3^rd-5th. Roger Johnson’s 1.5 score included draws with IM Matros, defending Senior champion Wayne Christensen, and NM Randal Ferguson.  Well played, gentlemen!

IM Matros’s victory makes him eligible for further national level Senior tournaments. As he is already seeded into the SC Championship final OTB tournament, the Senior spot goes to LM Klaus Pohl. Congratulations!

Hail to the chief, SCCA President David Grimaud, for keeping alive the hope and expectation of a return to traditional chess as soon as it can be made to happen. Thanks again to the Hilton hotel management – Sandra! – for keeping this event on the rails.

Gene Nix organized and directed.

Note: Display more games by clicking on the 3 dots in the upper left corner of the PGN viewer.

Crosstables

 

2020 South Carolina State Championship Tournament

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to evaluate and make adjustments in scheduling due to the Covid19 pandemic. Please be aware that this year's SC Championship tournament has changed locations and will now take place in Columbia SC (Alfoft Columbia Harbison) instead of Greenville as previously announced. Our sincere apologies go out to those who have had to cancel plans and reorganize schedules. This year's 2020 S.C. State Championship tournament will be a small limited invitational with six players competing. Three players have been extended an invitation: NM Mike Sailer (defending champion) - 2218, IM Alexander Matros (top rated state player) - 2437, and NM Sam Copeland (second rated state player ) - 2251. The next three players joining the championship round robin event will be determined by placement in the feeder tournaments (2020 Senior Championship and Online Tournament). 

81st Annual South Carolina Championship 2020 – Closed Invitational (Columbia) (edited 11/19/20 pm)

Click here for Flyer | Screening Questions

Date: December 5-6, 2020

Location: Aloft Columbia Harbison, 217 Lanneau Court, Columbia, SC, 29212 - T. 803.407.6166

EF: Waived; invitational limited to six players.

Format: 5RR, Game/75 minutes, 30 second increment.

Bye: None. Invitational format, six-players limit. Please commit to full schedule.

Prizes: $500-$250-$150-$100-$75-$50. Total: $1125

Schedule: Rounds Sat 10-3-7, 5; Sun 10, 3.

COVID-19 Protocol: Players, officials & observers will wear masks; and will answer daily health screen questions and have their temperature checked. We will not shake hands. TD will provide sets and clocks, and will clean these between rounds.

 

Elliott M. Schwartz, 83

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Elliot M. Schwartz of North Myrtle Beach. Mr. Schwartz was a retired attorney, fellow chess player, and family man. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Obituary

 

Upcoming Tournaments: Denker, Barber, Rockefeller, Haring, and Senior

Although the 2020 U.S. Open was cancelled as a result of the pandemic, US Chess will run the invitational National Tournaments of State Champions online. Each of our players will be required to use two cameras - one camera built into the laptop/desktop and the other positioned so that the playing area
can be clearly seen. A quality control check will be performed July 16-17 to ensure proper communications between all parties. Good luck to all our SC players!!

Tournament	Age/Grade	Date	SC Representative
Denker	grades 9-12	July 25-26	Connor Liu & alternate Ryan McCrea
Barber	grades 6-8	August 1-2	Eli Moore
Rockefeller	K-5	August 1-2	Caton Tsao
Haring	girls K-12	July 25-26	Alexis Williams
Senior	50+ years old	July 25-26	Wayne Christensen & alternate Roger Johnson

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prizes:
Denker: 1st $2000, 2nd $1500, 3rd $1000, Team $400, Plaques for 1st-3rd, Foster 15U $500
Barber: 1st $2000, 2nd $1500, 3rd $1000, Team $400, Plaques for 1st-3rd
Rockefeller: 1st $2000, 2nd $1500, 3rd $1000, Team $400, Plaques for 1st-3rd
Haring: 1st $2000, 2nd $1500, 3rd $1000, Team $400, Plaques for 1st-3rd, Foster 12U $500
Senior: 1st $1000, 2nd $600, 3rd $400, 4th $300, 5th $200, Team $400, Plaques for 1st-3rd

 

4H Chess Tournament (on Chess.com) Saturday Morning 10AM

Dean Creech is organizing a 4H Chess Tournament on Chess.com Saturday Morning (5/16). Click here for details and instructions.

Date: Saturday 16 May 2020
Time: 10:00 AM sharp
Location: Chess.com
Type: Standard, 4 Round Swiss System, G15/i10.
Affects chess.com rapid rating only.

 

Strategery Chess Online Tournaments 3/23-3/27

We have a new slate of tournaments and lessons this week with daily prize tournaments every weekday at 1 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday lessons will be streamed on our page at facebook.com/strategerycg at 4:30 p.m. followed by tournaments at 5:00 pm.

Every tournament offers a $5 prize for a perfect score. Just login at chesskid.com before the tournament begins and join the tournament in the sidebar.

Any SC scholastic players of ChessKid age who are not in our club and want to play can message This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be added to the club.

Strategery Daily Prize Tournament 3-24-20, 12:59PM
Midlands Scholastic Tuesday Rumble 3-24-20, 4:59PM
Strategery Daily Prize Tournament 3-25-20, 12:59PM
Strategery Daily Prize Tournament 3-26-20, 12:59PM
Midlands Scholastic Thursday Rumble 3-26-20, 4:59PM
Strategery Daily Prize Tournament 3-27-20, 12:59PM

We wish you all the best. Stay home and stay safe, everyone.

Best,
Sam Copeland
716-239-0497
Director - Strategery: Chess and Games
strategerycg.com, Facebook, Twitter

62 for MSCL V

In one of the most mature tournaments we've run, we were thrilled to be joined by an outstanding group of 62 players for the Midlands Scholastic Chess League V tournament held Saturday, February 22nd at North Trenholm Baptist Church in Columbia. MSCL V included more than a dozen new players who tried out this tournament ahead of the SC Scholastic Chess Championship. The games were incredibly well-played and we witnessed great sportsmanship from all players.

Congratulations are in order to Lake Murrary Elementary School, Midlands Scholastic Institute, and Airport High School for winning the Elementary, Middle, and High School team sections respectively.

Congrats to Jacob Gowan for winning the K-5 section, to Eli Moore for winning the K-8 section, and to Bradon Schley, Cain King, Taylor Hollis, and Connor Miles for winning the K-12 section.

Our next Midlands Scholastic tournament will be held on April 22 at Trenholm Baptist Church.

Crosstables     FB Photos

Sam Copeland
Director - Strategery: Chess and Games
strategerycg.com, Facebook, Twitter

 

Midlands Scholastic Chess League IV Results!!

50 competitive young chess players put their skills to the test in the Midlands Scholastic Chess League IV last Saturday. We were thrilled to see fantastic chess and sportsmanship on display throughout the event and honored to have players participating from across the state. Thanks to all of you for coming out and to our parents and coaches for supporting young students in chess!

K-5 Section:
1st Team - Conway Waldorf

1st Individual - Miguel Shim
2nd - Adam Ortiz
=3rd - Jony Steffee, Jordyn Wells, John Dent, Justin Peng, Jacob Gowan, Michael Benson

K-8 Section:
1st Team: Arrows Academy

1st Individual - Jaden Conner
=2nd - Lincoln Boucher, Daryl Dowty, Evan Steffee

K-12 Section:
1st Individual - Connor Miles
2nd - Franklin Caudle

Adult Section:
1st Individual - Daryl Dowty
2nd - David Laboone
3rd - James Cook

Crosstables     FB Photos

Sam Copeland
Director - Strategery: Chess and Games
strategerycg.com, Facebook, Twitter

 

9th Upstate Scholastic Chess League & 4H Chess Tournament Results!!

The ThinkMove Chess Academy hosted a strong turnout in Saturday’s 9th Upstate Scholastic Chess League Tournament held at Greenville County Square,
301 University Ridge in Greenville. Fourteen rated future Masters and also a dozen non-rated youngsters playing in their first structured chess tournament! The event was held at Bradon Schley and Nikolai Webb led the rated pack with 3.5-0.5 each, followed very closely by Callum Leys and Aiden Costanzo at 3-1, then were Ritika Sanghani, Daryl Dowty III, Jaden Conner, Jacob Schley, Alexander Fyock, Joshua Hunt, Shlok Trivedi, Paola Gonzales (welcome to USCF!), Jonathan Gao, and Charlotte Leys!
Crosstables

Christopher Caro and Robert Gilbert led the non-rated beginners with 3.5-0.5 each, followed by Mason Prosser at 3-1, then were Miles Lynn, Sean Glenn, Esteban Jiminez, Eliana Schley, Michael Lynn, Miles Jacobs, Harit Dave, Vidhi Trivedi, and Jheel Dave! Thanks to David Blair for assisting in directing, and welcome to the new chess families! Thanks to Patricia Whitener of the 4H program for making the facilities available!

Right next door Dean Creech conducted the 4H Fund-Raiser tournament, in which Roger Johnson’s 2.5-0.5 led a quad that included Senior Life Master Klaus Pohl, Jan Blasenak, and Dean. The prize-winners generously donated their winnings to the 4H program - thank you gentlemen! Crosstables

 

GSSM January Open Chess Tournament Results!!

Sixteen players fiercely contested the five-round GSSM January Open in Hartsville on January 18. When the dust cleared, Eli Moore of Winnsboro stood alone atop the heap with a perfect 5.0. (He really should get a shirt with a picture of Yoda saying "Judge me by my size, do you?") Tenth-grader Brandon Tregde of Myrtle Beach, the second youngest player in the field, won clear second place. After losing in the first round to GSSM Chess Club President Theo Pedapolu of Orangeburg, Brandon successfully executed the Swiss Gambit, winning his final four games. GSSM alum and current Duke student Richard Sandvoss of Fort Mill won clear third with 3.5, his only loss coming from Eli. Two other GSSM alumni, Jordan Anderson and Brennan Ravan, directed the tournament very capably. From left in the photo, Richard, Eli, and Brandon. Crosstables

 

GSSM November Open Chess Tournament Results!

A remarkable 14-year-old from Winnsboro emerged on top when a strong presence from Columbia, Pageland, and the Grand Strand invaded Hartsville on Saturday, November 9, as eighteen players participated in the five-round GSSM November Open on the campus of the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics. Eli Moore (shown left with Dr. Clyde Smith) won the first-place trophy clear with 4.5 points, the only blemish on his day a last-round Bishops-of-opposite-color draw with Darris Williamson of Little River. Ian Haigler of Pageland and Jordan Anderson of Columbia tied for second at 4.0. Jordan and fellow GSSM alum/current USC student Brennan Ravan directed the tournament. Darris won clear fourth place with 3.5 points. Tenth-grader Brandon Tregde of Myrtle Beach (far right) earned the first-unrated trophy for the day, and Cecil Clarkson III (right) of Myrtle Beach secured the trophy for biggest upset with a hard-fought victory over Tony Cato of Pageland in the final round.  Crosstables

 

SC Senior Open 2019 Results! NM Wayne Christensen Wins!

The 11th Annual South Carolina Senior Open 2019 is now history, and it was historic! Thirty-one contenders from six states made it the best-attended SC Senior Open to date! A majority of seventeen were on the home team, and we had seven friends from North Carolina, three from Georgia, two from Tennessee, one from Alabama, and one all the way from Minnesota! And we had our first married couple to compete!

After four hard-fought rounds, National Master Wayne Christensen (shown left) and National Master Peter Bereolos shared first and second places with 3.5 points each, and Wayne hoisted the trophy as the South Carolina Senior Champion! Senior Life Master Klaus Pohl, Roger Johnson, Bill Corbett, and Frank Redway, all from South Carolina, shared third through sixth places with three points each.

Mike Meekins scored 2-2 to claim the SC Under-1600 trophy, and shared the Under-1600 first through fourth places with Harold Zeltner, Kevin Hyde, and NC Chess Association President Debs Pedigo! Well played, gentlemen!

Ray and Mary Downs made their fourth journey from Alabama for the SC Senior – welcome back! Peter Bereolos of Tennessee is a connoisseur of senior tournaments, and has added South Carolina to his tour for the past three years! Special thanks to Mrs. Maria Blalock for convincing her husband, National master Rex Blalock, to make the drive from Georgia so they both could compete in their first tournament in several years! A number of folks returned to chess after long breaks from rated play – welcome back to the fray! A special salute goes to Dean Creech and Mike Meekins for causing warnings in the online tournament report with results well above their ratings! Local TD Gene Nix organized and directed this year's event. See crosstables for more details.

Crosstables

Midlands Scholastic Chess League II Results! Nov. 9th

We were THRILLED to have 60 players compete in the Midlands Scholastic Chess League II on Nov. 9th. This is one of our largest tournaments (outside of an Olympiad), and we had a blast watching the players compete and showcase fantastic sportsmanship and team spirit. We've listed the prizewinners below and linked large collection of photos on Facebook, and the full crosstable via US Chess.
Thanks to all the parents and coaches for their support, and we look forward to our next tournament, the MSCL Olympiad, on Dec. 7th! For those looking for more opportunities, do check out our ChessKid tournaments every Tuesday at 5 p.m. There is a five-dollar Amazon card that goes to the winner. We also meet for Kid's Hour on Thursdays at 6 p.m. at the St. Andrews Library, and players are welcome to attend the Columbia Chess Club at Firefly Games at 7 p.m. on Thursdays.   
Facebook  |  Crosstables
Have a good experience and want to support our efforts? Consider reviewing our page on Facebook! Your support through word of mouth helps a lot!

Team Winners: K-5: Hammond; K-8: Dent;

Top Female: Megan Laboone
Best Debut: Edward Feng, Bryce Meekins, Ethan Li, Andrew Feng, Caden Rogers
Biggest Upset: Thomas Laboone
Youngest Participant: Charlie Jordan

K-5 Individual:
=1st: Miguel Shim, Bryan Zheng (Miguel won an exciting tiebreak blitz game) Video
=3rd: Thomas Laboone, Jony Steffee, Adam Ortiz, Michael Wang, Robert Shim, Megan Laboone, Baylis Wang, Alex Magargle

K-8 Individual:
1st: Lincoln Boucher
=2nd: Henri Murthy, Kevin Chapman

K-12 Individual:
1st: Ryan Mcrae
=2nd: Paulo Hitopolous, Taylor Hollis

Sam Copeland
716-239-0497
Director - Strategery: Chess and Games
strategerycg.com, Facebook, Twitter

 

2019 SC State Championship Results! Mike Sailer Defends his Title! Kothapalli takes Top Prize!

Forty-nine players in over 3 sections competed in this year's 80th Annual South Carolina State Chess Championship over the weekend, Oct. 12-13. This year's championship section included six masters from three different states. Congratulations to NM Mike Sailer (left) on winning the 2019 South Carolina State Championship Title for the second year in a row! Cezarte Ramos Jr.(SC) was state runner-up! Congratulations also to young North Carolinian CM Pradhyumna Kumar Kothapalli (2131) of Charlotte. Kothpalli, after a first round draw to Gene Nix (SC), went perfect through his next four games to take the top prize. Other South Carolina winners receiving first-place trophies included Eli Moore (U1800 Section) and Eren Bilen (U1400 Section). Daryl Dowty Jr. came in first with a perfect score in the newly added SC Amateur Section. This special Saturday only event was created for less experienced players desiring a 1-day only schedule. The South Carolina Chess Association would like to thank all players, parents, and spectators who helped make the tournament a success. Special thanks to Daniel Smith, Gene Nix, Jordan Anderson, and NM Sam Copeland for organizing and directing this year's event! Final results and crosstables below..

Crosstables for 80th SC Championships
Crosstables for SC AMATEUR

Championship Section
1. Prady Kothapalli (NC) 4.5/5 pts
2. Ted Belanoff (NY) 4/5 pts
3. Mike Sailer (SC) 3.5/5 pts - SC State Champion
4. Cezarte Ramos (SC) 3/5 pts - SC Runner Up
*Senior Prize - Klaus Pohl
5th Place 5 way tie with 2.5/5 pts:
Sam Copeland, Klaus Pohl, Leo Rabulan, Leon Cheng, Patrick McCartney

U1800 Section
1. Eli Moore 4.5/5 pts - SC U1800 Champion
2. Tied Alex Hu 4/5 pts - SC U1800 Runner Up
Dan Quigley 4/5 pts

U1600 Prize
1. Devon Stein (SC) 3/5 pts
2. Tied with 2.5/5 pts:
Gilberto Padilla-Ortiz, Corey Burton
*Senior Prize Dan Quigley

U1400
1. Eren Bilen (SC) 4.5/5 pts - SC U1400 Champion
2. Krishna Somesula 4/5 pts - SC U1400 Runner Up
3. Tied..Debs Pedigo (NC) 3/5 pts
Lalith Challari (NC) 3/5 pts

U1200 prize
1. Vincent Mahoney 2.5/5 pts
2. Dean Creech 2/5 pts

U1000 Prize
1. Tied Henri Murthy 2/5 pts; Justin Fuentes 2/5 points
*Senior Prize: Dean Creech 2/5 pts

Special One Day Amateur Section (15 Players)
1. Daryl Dowty Jr. 4/4 (perfect score!) - SC Amateur Champion
2. Daryl Dowty III 3/4 pts - SC Amateur Champion Runner Up
3. Hleb Fedarovich 3/4 Pts
4. Roman Marks 3/4 Pts
5. Franklin Caudle 3/4 Pts

 

Greenville Fall Scholastic, October 5, 2019!

Thirty-eight young future Masters gathered for some contemplative King-hunting at Green Charter School in the Greenville Fall Scholastic chess tournament Saturday, October 5! After five lively rounds, the respective leaders in tiebreak order were:

K-12 (10 players): Harrison Majors, 5.0; Bradon Schley, 3.5; Toby Cox & Mark Ritchie, 3.0; Nikolai Webb, 2.5

K-8 (7 players): Jaden Conner, 4.5; Alexander Fyock, 3.5; Kunal Bakre & Aadi Agnihotri, 3.0; Zachary Taylor, 2.0

K-6 (11 players): Lincoln Boucher, 5.0; Daryl Dowty III, 4.0; Silas Hall & Spencer Burke & Eliana Schley, 3.0; Sarah Slieff, 2.5

(K-4 & K-2 played in one section)

K-4 (9 players): Ritika Sanghani, 4.0; Abhinav Ramireddy & Nandini Jonnalagadda, 3.5; Sreekar Bodepudi & Walker Dennis, 2.5

K-2 (1 player): Ayaansh Kaistha, 3.5

Hampton Park Christian School took the first place team trophy, followed by Green Charter Elementary School in second place.

Four youngsters competed in their first rated tournament! Sixteen schools were there, with Hampton Park Christian’s nine scholars leading the crowd, Green Charter’s five contenders enjoying the home-field. Daniel HS brought three, and Clemson Elementary’s likewise had three, rounding out the leading participation levels! There were also three home-schoolers!

Greenville Chess Club members, Think Move Chess Academy instructors, Green Charter School officials, and numerous enthusiastic chess parents volunteered to keep this event on track and on schedule! These included Dean Creech as primary assistant TD, Will Brown, David Acosta, and David Blair as floor TDs, and Ani & Arati Agnihotri were score-keepers. Sara Hamby with Green Charter provided the venue. SCCA President David Grimaud visited and brought along IM Alexander Matros! Life Master Klaus Pohl assisted with floor TD duties. Thanks also to National TD Kevin Hyde for the loan of many chess sets! Finally, warmest thanks go to the parents and guardians who support and encourage their children in learning chess from an early age! Local TD Gene Nix organized and directed.

Tournament report is online at: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201910050032.0-12407332

 

LM Klaus Pohl in Chess Life Magazine!

In the October 2019 issue of Chess Life Magazine, Life Master Klaus Pohl describes how he and his family survived the bombing of Dresden in the winter of 1945. The article, written by Al Lawrence, is aptly entitled "Overcoming Obstacles" and is featured in the "Faces Across the Board" section of the magazine. Klaus has won the SC State Championship title an incredible 13 times and also represented South Carolina in the prestigious National Senior Tournament of Champions. The digital version of the October issue is now available online.

 

 

Changes to Barber Tournament of State K-8 Champions - New Rockefeller Tournament

Starting with the upcoming Barber Tournament, the Barber Tournament will now be for grades 6-8 only. A new Rockefeller Tournament of State Elementary School Champions has been created. This will be for grades K-5, only, and have prizes and awards similar to those of the other National State Championship tournaments. This tournament will also be starting in 2020. Please keep this in mind when holding your qualifying events for the invitational tournaments that will be taking place in the summer of 2020.

Jon Haskel,
Barber Committee Chairman

Carol Meyer's Announcement on Twitter

 

Chess in Orlando 2019 - Denker, Barber, Ruth Haring NGTOC, National Senior Tournament of Champions

August 14, 2019

So, Sunday evening (August 4th) several hundred chess players filled the Junior Executive ballroom at the Rosen Centre hotel in Orlando in their various tournaments, including the Haring Tournament of Girl State Champions, the Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions, the Denker Tournament of State High School Champions, the Tournament of Senior State Champions, and of course round two of the 120th US Open tournament. By 11:30 only two directors remained to see off the completion of the last game in progress at board 156. My opponent resigned shortly before midnight, a small upset victory and my second point in the tournament.

Then it all happened again the next day about the same way, and near midnight the evening’s last game finished on board 152, and I had another upset win for the third point in as many rounds. My name was on the leaders list just below three Grandmasters, a FIDE Master and three National Masters, all with 3-0.

I played round four inside the cordoned corral on board four(!) against FIDE Master Macon Shibut, and the demonstration boards outside the hall displayed the most swiftly thoroughgoing beat-down of an A-player witnessed that night and likely several nights. And I lost the next four after that, like one of those marathon runners who surges to the front at the start only to fade back the rest of the way.

But I brought home 29 score sheets to study as there were some side events, and through the good offices of David Grimaud I attended the annual delegates meeting and accepted Dr. Clyde Smith’s plaque at the awards luncheon – Congratulations to David and Maureen Grimaud, Dr. Smith, and Sam Copeland on their recognitions acknowledging ongoing hard work in support of scholastic, senior, and womens chess!

And congratulations to our invitational tournament contenders: Charlotte Leys in the Haring tournament, Eli Moore in the Barber tournament, Matthew Johnson in the Denker Tournament, and Senior Life Master Klaus Pohl in the Senior Tournament!
And greetings to the rest of the South Carolina contingent, SCCA VP Daniel Smith, Drew Plyler, Aidan Fejzulai, Shaun McCoy (honorary), and David Acosta, who was GM Timur Gareyev’s roommate and study partner! And parents Michael Moore, Michael Johnson, Matthew Leys, and big brother Callum Leys, who won one of the quads!

Quite a week it was!

Individual Standings  Denker | Barber | Ruth Haring NGTOC | NSTOC
Team Standings
US Open Crosstable

Gene Nix
Greenville Chess Club President

 

South Carolina Wins 2019 Border Battle 21-17!!

Thirty-eight players gathered at the Charlotte Chess Center on Saturday, August 17th for the annual Border Battle between North and South Carolina. With games fiercely contested and point totals running neck-and-neck in the second rounds, South Carolina managed to edge out North Carolina in the end 21-17!!! It was a great win for this year's SC Team!! Congratulations to all our fine players!! Perfect scores (2.0) in this year's event went to Matthew Grant Johnson, Jacob Stoll, Daniel Smith, David Acosta, and Callum Leys. Special thanks to NM Peter Giannotos and the CCCSA for hosting this year's event! Thank you SCCA President David Grimaud, VP Daniel Smith, and to all players making the trip to Charlotte and supporting chess in the Carolinas!!

Crosstables | Chart

 

SC Chess Festival Results! May 18-19

Congratulations to Benjamin Caiello (right), the South Carolina 2019 Rapid and Blitz Champion! Ben won both titles despite early losses which he had to recover from. Ben scored 13/14 in blitz, and 8/9 in rapid. Mike Sailer also scored 8/9, but lost out on tiebreak though he did win the head to head. Next year, Ben will begin graduate school in Pennsylvania, and we wish him the best of luck! This year's event was held at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Columbia SC.
Facebook Photos  |  Crosstables

SC Rapid Chess Championship:
=1 - Ben Caiello and Mike Sailer
3 - Klaus Pohl
4 - Ernest Nix
5 - Jacob Stoll

1 U1600 - Eli Moore
2 U1600 - John Roberts

1 U1200 - Vincent Mahoney
2 U1200 - Mark Ritchie

SC Blitz Chess Championship:
1 - Ben Caiello
2 - Mike Sailer
=3 - Klaus Pohl, Luis Lizardo, Eli Moore (also =1 U1600), Jacob Stoll (also =1 U1600)
=1 U1200 - Vincent Mahoney, Kevin Chapman

SC Chess Festival Bughouse Championship:
1 - Ben Caiello and Marty Anderson
1 Junior - Jacob Stoll and William Wang

Sam Copeland
716-239-0497
Director - Strategery: Chess and Games
strategerycg.com, Facebook, Twitter

 

Greenville Spring Scholastic, May 4, 2019 - Results!

Forty-seven young future Masters met up for some pawn-promotions at Green Charter School in the Greenville Spring Scholastic chess tournament Saturday, May 4. After five lively rounds, the respective leaders in tiebreak order were:

K-12 (8 players): Ford Duncan, 5.0; Nikolai Webb, 3.5; Bradon Schley & Sankar Jonnalagadda, 3.0; Will Howard, 2.5; Hayes Brown, 2.0

K-8 (8 players): Toby Cox, 5.0; Mark Ritchie, 4.0; Jaden Conner & Kunal Bakre, 3.0; Shravan Dash & Zachary Taylor, 2.0

K-6 (24 players): Callum Leys, 5.0; Aadi Agnihotri, 4.0; Eliana Schley, Brijesh Abboy, Kavin Michael Raj, Noah Graves, & Lincoln Boucher, 3.0

(K-4 & K-2 played in one section)

K-4 (14 players): Abhinav Ramireddy & Charlotte Leys, 4.0; Silas Hall & Vishnu Abboy, 3.5; Vishwaksen Enugala & Nandini Jonnalagadda, 3.0

K-2 (5 players): Ritika Sanghani, 4.0; Jonathan Gao & Ayaansh Kaistha, 3.0; Karan Michael Raj, 2.0; Justin Peng, 2.0

Green Charter Elementary School took the first place team trophy, followed by Hampton Park Christian School in second place.

Eight youngsters competed in their first or second regular rated tournament! Fifteen schools were there, with Green Charter’s 12 contenders enjoying the home-field, Hampton Park Christian’s 9 close behind, and Clemson Elementary’s 5, Monarch Elementary’s 4, rounding out the leading participation levels! There were also seven home-schoolers!

Greenville Chess Club members, Think Move Chess Academy instructors, Green Charter School officials, and numerous enthusiastic chess parents volunteered to keep this event on track and mostly on time! These included Dean Creech as primary assistant TD, Will Brown and Ani Agnihotri as floor TDs, Arati Agnihotri as score-keeper, and David Acosta as floor TD and representing TMCA! Sara Hamby with Green Charter provided the venue. Life Master Klaus Pohl assisted with floor TD duties and game analysis. Thanks also to National TD Kevin Hyde for the loan of many chess sets! Finally, warmest thanks go to the parents and guardians who support and encourage their children in learning chess from an early age! Local TD Gene Nix organized and directed.

Tournament report is online at: US Chess MSA - Cross Table for GREENVILLE SPRING SCHOLASTIC 2019 (Event 201905048162)

Gene Nix
Greenville Chess Club President
Tournment Organizer and Director

 

NM Mike Sailer Wins 2019 Columbia Open!

Congratulations to National Master Mike Sailer of Columbia SC! Mike finished with 4.5 points in the five-round event giving him a clear first place. LM Klaus Pohl (SC) finished second with 4.0 points. Ernest (Gene) Nix, Jr. (SC) and Eli Moore (SC) tied for third with 2.5 points each. There was a three-way tie for the top spot in the U1600 section. Marty Anderson (SC), Brennan Ravan (SC), and Danny Ross Simmons (SC) all finished with 3.5 points each. Fifteen players competed in this year's event held at the Hilton Garden Inn (Feb. 9-10) in Columbia.

Crosstables

 

Midlands Scholastic Chess League IV Results! Feb. 16th

In a last warm up before this year's SC State Scholastic Championship (March 9th), forty-six competitors met at North Trenholm Baptist Church in Columbia to test their wits over the chess board at the Midlands Scholastic Chess League IV! Our compliments to these talented competitors on a delightful set of games and their excellent sportsmanship.

Here are your MSCL IV Winners...

K-8: 1st-Jacob Stoll 4.0/4, 2nd= Bradon Schley, Kevin Chapman, Helena Grace Bajarias, Sai Kummari, Evan Steffee 3.0/4
K-5: 1st-Cameron Wheeler 4.0/4, 2nd- Manith Bannenhally 3.5/4, 3rd= Daryl Dowty III, William Bao, Frances Grice, Ashish Maddipati, Collin Smith 3.0/5
Biggest Upset: Ashish Maddipatty; Top Female: Grace Bajarias; Best Debut: Francis Grice, Youngest Participant: Charlie Jordan
Crosstables
Strategery Chess & Games on Facebook
Games from Board 1

 

Matthew Johnson wins 45th Snowstorm Special!

With a perfect 4-0 score, Matthew Johnson won the 45th Snowstorm Special on February 16, 2019, and joins the list of accomplished players who have done the same. Matthew was the second highest rated player in the tournament, but only had to beat the third highest rated player, Gary Firestone, in the final round to complete his sweep. Gary had upset the highest rated player, Ian Barnett, in the 3rd round, which set up the battle of “B” players in the final round for 1st place. Gary and Ian finished 3-1 and shared 2nd place. This year's 45th Snowstorm Special tournament was held at The Church of the Holy Cross Parish Hall, Daniel Island SC.

Crosstables

 

8th Annual South Carolina Senior Open Results! May 14-15

Twenty-five elder fighters from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee converged on the Hilton Garden Inn hotel in Greenville, SC, to resolve the matter of senior dominance at the chess board. Accelerated pairings left only four perfect scores going into the Sunday rounds, and after sitting next to each other on boards one and two all weekend, Masters Klaus Pohl and Randal Ferguson settled the question in round four in an exciting duel that kept the TD studying tie-break scenarios until Klaus took over the position. So, Life Master Klaus Pohl took first place with 4-0; Expert Mike Anderson was second with 3.5 points; Gary Newsom and Ralph Lombard shared third-fourth with 3 points; National TD Kevin Hyde’s 3-1 took top honors for the Under-1600 prize, and Harold Zeltner won second Under-1600 with two points. We had some new faces, so to speak, with Father Jeffrey Kendall of Round O, SC, and Joe Page of Morrisville, NC, playing in their first rated tournament - welcome to the fray!. Special thanks to Kevin Hyde for sharing his expertise on several finer points of tournament direction. Local TD Gene Nix officiated.

Gene Nix
Greenville Chess Club President

Photos    Crosstables

 

Midlands Scholastic Chess League IV Results!

In possibly our most competitive tournament yet, we had 40 of the Midlands best and brightest chess players compete across three sections. Thanks to Rade Musulin and Daniel Smith for assisting with direction and to the parents and coaches who support their chess players!

K-5 - 1st: Gibson Ward, 2nd: Will Edwards, 3rd: Henri Murthy, Jonathon Williams, and Conner Brown
1st Place Team K-5: Harbison West,  2nd Place Team K-5: Byrd and Lake Murray

K-8 - 1st: Dawson Coutsos, 2nd: William Nettles, 1st Place Team K-8: Chapin Intermediate

K-12 - 1st: Ravitej Guruvelli, 2nd: Gunateja Guruvelli, Paul Pena, Kenneth Jackson, and Alejandro Rivera

New individual prizes were claimed by...
Top Female: Olivia Watkins
Best Debut: Michael Kuckuka
Biggest Upset: Jonathon Williams (Over Calvin Smith for 387 points)
Youngest Participant: Blake Watkins

In the Adult section, James MacDougall claimed first with a perfect score. Michael Mayfield took second and Charles Stevenson and Truman Price shared third.

Thanks to all, and we hope to see you again on May 14th for the MSCL V at Pelion High School!

NM Sam Copeland
Strategery Chess & Games

Photos from Facebook        Crosstable

 

Midlands Scholastic Chess League III Results! Highest Attendance in League Series!

Sixty-one talented young players turned out for the Midland Scholastic Chess League III tournament on Saturday, February 6th, 2016. The event, held at at North Trenholm Baptist Church in Columbia, once again broke new attendance records for the series!!!  Congratulations to all of the students who participated and thanks to all the parents and coaches who support scholastic chess in Columbia! The top finishers are as follows...
1st Individual K-12 - Paul Daniel Pena
1st Individual K-8 - Daniel Sobel
1st Individual K-5 Messiah Cornelius
1st Team K-12 - Charles Pinckney Elementary and Pelion High School tied with CPE having the better tiebreak.
1st Team K-8 - Pleasant Hill Middle School
1st Team K-5 - Midlands STEM Institute.

Congratulations to McKenzie England, Jericho Ho, Omar Hamdan, Blake Lawson, Daniel Sobel, Kevin Reeves, Messiah Cornelius, Matty Ferrario, Katie Maldonado, and Taylor Hollis on being projected to gain more than 100 rating points! We hope to see you at the SC State Scholastic Championships on February 27th in Charleston, SC! Our next tournament will be April 9th at Ashland United Methodist Church; registration will be available this week!

Photos from Facebook     Crosstables