Updated on 2015.11.23 by Chris Kim & John D. Rockefeller V
Welcome to the 2015-2016 qualifying season for the 2016 Maryland Sweet 16 on 2016.03.05-06. Since 1995 this annual invitational tournament has featured 16 of the top K-12 Maryland players competing in a separate section of the UMBC Open at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The MD-Sweet-16 tournament-announcement page contains all tournament details, including qualification rules & MD-Sweet-16-Varsity-Points scoring rules. The MD-Sweet-16 Champion will receive a MD-Sweet-16 UMBC Chess Scholarship, valued at $44,024. (Additionally, there are 2 types of UMBC Chess Scholarships for which high-school seniors from any state are eligible.)
6 of the 9 scheduled MD-Sweet-16 Qualifiers in this qualifying season have been completed. The standings are current through MCA Roland Park November on 2015.11.14. The next scheduled MD-Sweet-16 Qualifier will be MCA Severn on 2015.12.05 in Severna Park, & the final scheduled one will be MCA McDuffie Memorial on 2016.02.20 in Baltimore.
Click below for the current 16 Qualifiers, 2 Alternates, & Full Standings.
MCA schedules only 2 rounds of G/90 +30 games in the Varsity section at MD-Sweet-16 Qualifiers (a.k.a. Local Scholastic Tournaments), to give elite scholastic players the opportunity to compete in games with the same control used at the MD Sweet 16, the Denker High-School National Championship, the Barber Middle-School National Championship, & the National Girls Invitational Tournament. MCA sets the Varsity floor at 1600 to keep the sections reasonably sized & competitive.
* Ratings are from US Chess's December Supplement.
* The March Supplement will be used to determine the Final Standings, regardless of whether the MD Sweet 16 will be held in February or in March.
Current 8 Qualifiers by US Chess Rating (primary path to qualification) (total # of Varsity Points is immaterial)
| Place | Name | USCF Rating (12/15) | Total Varsity Points | Number of Tournaments |
| 1 | Sinha, Sahil | 2234 | 22.0 | 1 |
| 2 | Tang, Arthur | 2120 | 18.0 | 1 |
| 3 | Heesters, Pieter | 1983 | 14.0 | 1 |
| 4 | Tan, Richard | 1979 | 22.0 | 1 |
| 5 | Best Jr, Ronald | 1941 | 39.5 | 2 |
| 6 | Hontz, Justin | 1887 | 17.5 | 1 |
| 7 | Tahmassebi, Bijan | 1876 | 27.5 | 2 |
| 8 | Malcolm, Douglas | 1830 | 34.0 | 2 |
Current 8 Qualifiers by Varsity Points (secondary path to qualification) (for players who do not qualify by rating)
| Place | Name | USCF Rating (12/15) | Total Varsity Points | Number of Tournaments |
| 1 | Amata, Dexter | 1614 | 77.0 | 5 |
| 2 | Zheng, Zhi Kevin | 1588 | 61.0 | 4 |
| 3 | Merchant, Ali | 1727 | 44.5 | 3 |
| 4 | Rupeshkumar, Shiyam | 1679 | 42.0 | 3 |
| 5 | Janus, Nathan | 1788 | 31.5 | 2 |
| 6 | Best, Jordan | 1633 | 31.0 | 2 |
| 7 | Keisler, Phillp | 1737 | 29.5 | 2 |
| 8 | Veluvolu, Vinay | 1742 | 20.5 | 1 |
Current 2 Alternates by US Chess Rating (free entry to UMBC Open, which runs concurrently with MD Sweet 16)
| Place | Name | USCF Rating (12/15) | Total Varsity Points | Number of Tournaments |
| 1 | Du, Jeffrey | 1796 | 17.5 | 1 |
| 2 | Mrozek, Tad | 1770 | 14.0 | 1 |
Remaining MD-Sweet-16-Eligible Varsity Players by US Chess Rating
| Place | Name | USCF Rating (12/15) | Total Varsity Points | Number of Tournaments |
| 1 | Kokilepersaud, Kiran | 1574 | 13.5 | 1 |
| 2 | Tarantin, Joseph | 1568 | 12.0 | 1 |
| 3 | Koerner, Kathleen | 1503 | 14.5 | 1 |
Varsity Players Ineligible for the MD Sweet 16 (non-Maryland residents who attend non-Maryland schools, etc.)
1. | Name | US Chess ID # | State
… | Name | US Chess ID # | State
All MD-Sweet-16-Eligible Varsity Players by US Chess Rating
| Place | Name | USCF Rating (12/15) | Total Varsity Points | Number of Tournaments |
| 1 | Sinha, Sahil | 2234 | 22.0 | 1 |
| 2 | Tang, Arthur | 2120 | 18.0 | 1 |
| 3 | Heesters, Pieter | 1983 | 14.0 | 1 |
| 4 | Tan, Richard | 1979 | 22.0 | 1 |
| 5 | Best Jr, Ronald | 1941 | 39.5 | 2 |
| 6 | Hontz, Justin | 1887 | 17.5 | 1 |
| 7 | Tahmassebi, Bijan | 1876 | 27.5 | 2 |
| 8 | Malcolm, Douglas | 1830 | 34.0 | 2 |
| 9 | Du, Jeffrey | 1796 | 17.5 | 1 |
| 10 | Janus, Nathan | 1788 | 31.5 | 2 |
| 11 | Mrozek, Tad | 1770 | 14.0 | 1 |
| 12 | Veluvolu, Vinay | 1742 | 20.5 | 1 |
| 13 | Keisler, Phillp | 1737 | 29.5 | 2 |
| 14 | Merchant, Ali | 1727 | 44.5 | 3 |
| 15 | Rupeshkumar, Shiyam | 1679 | 42.0 | 3 |
| 16 | Best, Jordan | 1633 | 31.0 | 2 |
| 17 | Amata, Dexter | 1614 | 77.0 | 5 |
| 18 | Zheng, Zhi Kevin | 1588 | 61.0 | 4 |
| 19 | Kokilepersaud, Kiran | 1574 | 13.5 | 1 |
| 20 | Tarantin, Joseph | 1568 | 12.0 | 1 |
| 21 | Koerner, Kathleen | 1503 | 14.5 | 1 |
All MD-Sweet-16-Eligible Varsity Players by Varsity Points
| Place | Name | USCF Rating (12/15) | Total Varsity Points | Number of Tournaments |
| 1 | Amata, Dexter | 1614 | 77.0 | 5 |
| 2 | Zheng, Zhi Kevin | 1588 | 61.0 | 4 |
| 3 | Merchant, Ali | 1727 | 44.5 | 3 |
| 4 | Rupeshkumar, Shiyam | 1679 | 42.0 | 3 |
| 5 | Best Jr, Ronald | 1941 | 39.5 | 2 |
| 6 | Malcolm, Douglas | 1830 | 34.0 | 2 |
| 7 | Janus, Nathan | 1788 | 31.5 | 2 |
| 8 | Best, Jordan | 1633 | 31.0 | 2 |
| 9 | Keisler, Phillp | 1737 | 29.5 | 2 |
| 10 | Tahmassebi, Bijan | 1876 | 27.5 | 2 |
| 11 | Tan, Richard | 1979 | 22.0 | 1 |
| 12 | Sinha, Sahil | 2234 | 22.0 | 1 |
| 13 | Veluvolu, Vinay | 1742 | 20.5 | 1 |
| 14 | Tang, Arthur | 2120 | 18.0 | 1 |
| 15 | Hontz, Justin | 1887 | 17.5 | 1 |
| 16 | Du, Jeffrey | 1796 | 17.5 | 1 |
| 17 | Koerner, Kathleen | 1503 | 14.5 | 1 |
| 18 | Mrozek, Tad | 1770 | 14.0 | 1 |
| 19 | Heesters, Pieter | 1983 | 14.0 | 1 |
| 20 | Kokilepersaud, Kiran | 1574 | 13.5 | 1 |
| 21 | Tarantin, Joseph | 1568 | 12.0 | 1 |