Youth Chess News
March 2021 US Top 100 Lists for Girls
- Details
- Written by Eva Harrison Eva Harrison
Congratulations to the 50 girls from Illinois with regular ratings high enough to put them in the top 100 in the country in their respective age group.
US Rank Player (US Chess ID) February ’21 Cutoff
| Age 8 | ||
| 29 | Lee, Olivia (16643743) | 815 |
| 79 | Berkey, Rebekah (16585623) | 476 |
| Age 9 | ||
| 22 | Jiandani, Mehak S (16108634) | 997 |
| 80 | Sharad, Suhana (16943553) | 622 |
| 99 | Ranjan, Nysa (16761560) | 533 |
| Age 10 | ||
| 5 | Prakash, Nandini (16085871) | 1717 |
| 43 | Hu, Angela (16747812) | 1077 |
| 65 | Doddi, Sukhi (15850503) | 953 |
| 67 | Zheng, Joyce J (16239154) | 952 |
| 98 | Mishra, Sushreeya Devi (16812724) | 828 |
| Age 11 | ||
| 69 | Girish, Niyathi (16221570) | 1054 |
| 69 | Gansukh, Megan (16231843) | 1054 |
| Age 12 | ||
| 15 | Raj, Ria (15844590) | 1630 |
| 63 | Namuunbayar, Enkhjin (15863824) | 1217 |
| 70 | Erdenebileg, Oyumaa (16243234) | 1177 |
| 85 | Saravanan, Shanthini (16213261) | 1093 |
| 89 | Hu, Emily (16385785) | 1083 |
| Age 13 | ||
| 20 | Adusumalli, Saanvi (15412194) | 1649 |
| 34 | Zhao, Sophia Ziyan (16763001) | 1510 |
| 38 | Salian, Nisha (15767306) | 1493 |
| 43 | Lee, Merrill (15703571) | 1439 |
| 47 | Musku, Himani (15932133) | 1401 |
| 80 | Hong, Sophie (15947555) | 1189 |
| 85 | Liu, Catherine (15277304) | 1143 |
| 93 | Swan, Josephine Grace (15352778) | 1107 |
| Age 14 | ||
| 4 | Wisniowski, Natalie (15702390) | 2006 |
| 11 | Kumar, Sruthi Bharath (15879904) | 1739 |
| 21 | Luster, Shakira (15641127) | 1616 |
| 34 | Oberai, Anisha (15794814) | 1516 |
| 78 | Namuunbayar, Anujin (15863872) | 1157 |
| 96 | Schneider, Rosali (15552287) | 1005 |
| Age 15 | ||
| 22 | Tsyganova, Margarita (15922341) | 1616 |
| 26 | Lin, Sarah (15376582) | 1565 |
| 57 | Williams, Trechelle (15637011) | 1233 |
| 61 | Nadkarni, Anusha (14789160) | 1219 |
| 66 | Han, Wenjing (15882830) | 1186 |
| 76 | Hill, Imani (16214855) | 1132 |
| Age 16 | ||
| 10 | Yan, Ashley (14957435) | 1912 |
| 42 | Zhang, Louisa (15746981) | 1417 |
| 45 | Rodriguez, Layla (15360516) | 1381 |
| 69 | Maiewski, Isabela (15151805) | 1010 |
| 88 | Kuricheti, Umika (14579770) | 822 |
| Age 17 | ||
| 4 | Mangalam, Shreya (14385521) | 2132 |
| 5 | Hoesley, Aria (14631046) | 2091 |
| 21 | Shklover, Diana (14672010) | 1527 |
| 25 | Grandy, Sarah Ruth (14279452) | 1446 |
| 38 | Brahin, Lizzy (15698350) | 1264 |
| 66 | Schwegel, Bernadette Olivia (15128161) | 871 |
| Age 18 | ||
| 33 | Phillips, Rebecca (16628621) | 1388 |
| 48 | Bates, Jade (15332430) | 1120 |
February 2021 US Top 100 Lists for Girls
- Details
- Written by Eva Harrison Eva Harrison
A big shout-out to all the fine young ladies who played at the 2021 IHSA State Championship earlier this month. While the IHSA results do not affect the lists below, it would be amiss if I did not acknowledge these high school team players, especially Aria Hoesley who was instrumental in helping Whitney Young clinch first place. Congratulations!
The lists compiled by US Chess are based on ratings achieved and processed by the third Wednesday of the previous month, in this case January 20, 2021.
January 2021 US Top 100 Lists for Girls
- Details
- Written by Eva Harrison Eva Harrison
US Rank Player (US Chess ID) December ’20 Cutoff
| Age 8 | ||
| 33 | Lee, Olivia (16643743) | 815 |
| 44 | Govindarajan, Mythreyi (16801573) | 725 |
| Age 9 | ||
| 26 | Hu, Angela (16747812) | 1077 |
| 33 | Jiandani, Mehak S (16108634) | 997 |
| Age 10 | ||
| 7 | Prakash, Nandini (16085871) | 1717 |
| 73 | Doddi, Sukhi (15850503) | 953 |
| 75 | Zheng, Joyce J (16239154) | 952 |
| 90 | Manimaran, Shivani (16614018) | 866 |
| 97 | Lkhavgajav, Bolor Sarah (16235187) | 843 |
| Age 11 | ||
| 35 | Pham, Linda (15464538) | 1375 |
| 79 | Girish, Niyathi (16221570) | 1054 |
| 79 | Gansukh, Megan (16231843) | 1054 |
| Age 12 | ||
| 15 | Raj, Ria (15844590) | 1630 |
| 23 | Zhao, Sophia Ziyan (16763001) | 1510 |
| 74 | Namuunbayar, Enkhjin (15863824) | 1217 |
| 79 | Erdenebileg, Oyumaa (16243234) | 1177 |
| 100 | Saravanan, Shanthini (16213261) | 1093 |
| Age 13 | ||
| 20 | Adusumalli, Saanvi (15412194) | 1649 |
| 34 | Oberai, Anisha (15794814) | 1516 |
| 38 | Salian, Nisha (15767306) | 1493 |
| 41 | Lee, Merrill (15703571) | 1439 |
| 44 | Musku, Himani (15932133) | 1401 |
| 75 | Hong, Sophie (15947555) | 1189 |
| 82 | Liu, Catherine (15277304) | 1143 |
| 89 | Swan, Josephine Grace (15352778) | 1107 |
| 100 | Zheng, Kaylee (16232261) | 1056 |
| Age 14 | ||
| 4 | Wisniowski, Natalie (15702390) | 2006 |
| 13 | Kumar, Sruthi Bharath (15879904) | 1739 |
| 24 | Luster, Shakira (15641127) | 1609 |
| 82 | Namuunbayar, Anujin (15863872) | 1157 |
| Age 15 | ||
| 27 | Tsyganova, Margarita (15922341) | 1617 |
| 32 | Lin, Sarah (15376582) | 1565 |
| 61 | Williams, Trechelle (15637011) | 1232 |
| 68 | Nadkarni, Anusha (14789160) | 1219 |
| 71 | Han, Wenjing (15882830) | 1186 |
| 81 | Hill, Imani (16214855) | 1132 |
| Age 16 | ||
| 12 | Yan, Ashley (14957435) | 1912 |
| 41 | Zhang, Louisa (15746981) | 1417 |
| 46 | Rodriguez, Layla (15360516) | 1381 |
| 72 | Maiewski, Isabela (15151805) | 1010 |
| 85 | Schwegel, Bernadette Olivia (15128161) | 871 |
| 90 | Kuricheti, Umika (14579770) | 822 |
| Age 17 | ||
| 4 | Mangalam, Shreya (14385521) | 2132 |
| 5 | Hoesley, Aria (14631046) | 2091 |
| 19 | Shklover, Diana (14672010) | 1527 |
| 23 | Grandy, Sarah Ruth (14279452) | 1446 |
| 29 | Phillips, Rebecca (16628621) | 1388 |
| 37 | Brahin, Lizzy (15698350) | 1264 |
| Age 18 | ||
| 49 | Bates, Jade (15332430) | 1120 |
Announcement of the 2020-2021 class of Warren Junior Scholars and Rising Stars
- Details
- Written by Eric Luster Eric Luster
The Illinois Chess Association is proud to announce the 2020-2021 class of Warren Junior Scholars and Rising Stars.
The Warren Junior Scholar program was started over 30 years ago by Helen Warren, a past ICA president, to recognize the most accomplished and promising scholastic chess players in the state. In 2015, the Rising Stars program was added to recognize the next tier of up and coming scholastic players. These two programs together recognize the top scholastic chess talent in our state.
Invitation to these programs is based on USCF chess ratings and active participation in chess tournaments.
December 2020 US Top 100 Lists for Girls
- Details
- Written by Eva Harrison Eva Harrison
Over-the-board tournaments are still few and far between resulting in only minor ranking changes mostly due to players moving up to the next age group or dropping off the lists for failure to renew their USCF memberships.
An exception is Rebecca Phillips’ fine 3rd place in the U1400 section of the Midwest Holiday Class by which the 17-year old increased her USCF rating by 118 points and jumped from a rank of 39 to the 29th place among girls her age in the country.
I should have mentioned last month that the three St. Ethelreda friends, who are now at Marist High School, also found tournaments to sharpen their skills and continue to impress with their progress. Congratulations Shakira Luster, Trechelle Williams and Imani Hill!
The lists compiled by US Chess are based on ratings achieved and processed by the third Wednesday of the previous month, in this case November 18, 2020.
If you believe your daughter was inadvertently omitted from these lists, it may be due to US Chess rules regarding permission. If the player’s family cannot be contacted to confirm permission for using the name on one of these lists, the player is not listed. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for assistance on connecting with US Chess.
US Rank Player (US Chess ID) November ’20 Cutoff
| Age 8 | ||
| 31 | Lee, Olivia (16643743) | 815 |
| 44 | Govindarajan, Mythreyi (16801573) | 725 |
| 99 | Berkey, Rebekah (16585623) | 476 |
| Age 9 | ||
| 29 | Hu, Angela (16747812) | 1077 |
| 39 | Jiandani, Mehak S (16108634) | 997 |
| Age 10 | ||
| 7 | Prakash, Nandini (16085871) | 1717 |
| 71 | Doddi, Sukhi (15850503) | 953 |
| 73 | Zheng, Joyce J (16239154) | 952 |
| 91 | Manimaran, Shivani (16614018) | 866 |
| 98 | Lkhavgajav, Bolor Sarah (16235187) | 843 |
| Age 11 | ||
| 36 | Pham, Linda (15464538) | 1375 |
| 79 | Girish, Niyathi (16221570) | 1054 |
| 79 | Gansukh, Megan (16231843) | 1054 |
| Age 12 | ||
| 17 | Raj, Ria (15844590) | 1630 |
| 27 | Zhao, Sophia Ziyan (16763001) | 1510 |
| 76 | Namuunbayar, Enkhjin (15863824) | 1217 |
| 84 | Erdenebileg, Oyumaa (16243234) | 1177 |
| Age 13 | ||
| 19 | Adusumalli, Saanvi (15412194) | 1649 |
| 30 | Oberai, Anisha (15794814) | 1516 |
| 34 | Salian, Nisha (15767306) | 1493 |
| 42 | Musku, Himani (15932133) | 1401 |
| 71 | Hong, Sophie (15947555) | 1189 |
| 78 | Namuunbayar, Anujin (15863872) | 1157 |
| 80 | Liu, Catherine (15277304) | 1143 |
| 88 | Swan, Josephine Grace (15352778) | 1107 |
| 98 | Zheng, Kaylee (16232261) | 1056 |
| Age 14 | ||
| 4 | Wisniowski, Natalie (15702390) | 2006 |
| 12 | Kumar, Sruthi Bharath (15879904) | 1739 |
| 21 | Luster, Shakira (15641127) | 1640 |
| Age 15 | ||
| 30 | Tsyganova, Margarita (15922341) | 1617 |
| 34 | Lin, Sarah (15376582) | 1565 |
| 48 | Zhang, Louisa (15746981) | 1417 |
| 66 | Williams, Trechelle (15637011) | 1250 |
| 73 | Nadkarni, Anusha (14789160) | 1219 |
| 75 | Han, Wenjing (15882830) | 1186 |
| 81 | Hill, Imani (16214855) | 1155 |
| Age 16 | ||
| 6 | Hoesley, Aria (14631046) | 2091 |
| 14 | Yan, Ashley (14957435) | 1912 |
| 41 | Rodriguez, Layla (15360516) | 1381 |
| 79 | Schwegel, Bernadette Olivia (15128161) | 871 |
| 84 | Kuricheti, Umika (14579770) | 822 |
| Age 17 | ||
| 4 | Mangalam, Shreya (14385521) | 2132 |
| 19 | Shklover, Diana (14672010) | 1527 |
| 23 | Grandy, Sarah Ruth (14279452) | 1446 |
| 29 | Phillips, Rebecca (16628621) | 1388 |
| 38 | Brahin, Lizzy (15698350) | 1264 |
| Age 18 | ||
| 46 | Bates, Jade (15332430) | 1120 |