Maryland Chess Association

Carissa Zheng is 2023 Maryland Sweet 16 Champion!

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By Chris Y Kim

Carissa Zheng, a 12th grade student at Winston Churchill High School in Montgomery County, has won the 2023 Maryland Sweet 16 this weekend (March 4-5) at the University of Maryland - Baltimore County (UMBC). She is the first female winner of the Maryland Sweet 16 in the nearly 30 years of the event. This was the first time the Maryland Sweet 16 has been held in 3 years, since the pandemic cancelled over-the-board tournaments right after the 2020 version.

It is often the case that a player in the top half after the 1st day who can win both matches on the 2nd day will often win the Maryland Sweet 16. Round 4 featured the match between the top two seeds on Board 1 who were tied for the lead: Nitesh Cherukuri (2055) - Carissa Zheng (2035). Nitesh Cherukuri is in 6th grade in Howard County. Both players had won their 3rd round matches to take the lead at 2.5/3.0. Zheng prevailed in the drama-filled game to win the tournament, which includes a 4-year tuition scholarship to UMBC. The Maryland Chess Association would like to thank all the players and parents who accepted participation on very short notice and endured a power outage at UMBC on Saturday that shortened Round 2.

Here are the final standings in tiebreak order (out of 4 games):

3.5: Carissa Zheng

3.0: Jayant Maheshwari, Anish Mariappan

2.5: Nitesh Cherukuri, Siddharth Kurup, Gabriel Joshi

2.0: Devesh Cherukuri, Sherlock Grigsby II, Michael Deng, Andy Yue

1.5: Joshua Liu, Alexander Zlodorev, Eliot Wu

1.0: Angelina Verma, Sandeep Thimmasamudram

0.5: Anushka Skariah

Round 2 in 2023 Maryland Sweet 16 - Power Restored!

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By Chris Y Kim

Round 2 of the 2023 Maryland Sweet 16 has been completed with a very competitive field. We almost had a 7-way tie for first place again with 1.5 points except for a decisive Board 2 game. Jayant Maheshwari defeated Gabriel Joshi in a tight match to take sole first place with 2.0 points. Round 2 also featured a Board 1 matchup between undefeated brothers Devesh and Nitesh Cherukuri that resulted in a draw.

The biggest news of Round 2 was the restoration of power (from a tree downing a powerline feeding UMBC) around 17:34 this afternoon - assuring that the tournament would continue. Power went out in the middle of Round 1 and through Round 2. Round 2 was shortened to G/60; +30 sec increment, as the building would close at sundown if the power were not restored. Sunlight in the playing room ensured that games could be played, but the room was gradually darkening at the completion of the last two matches of Round 2 when power was restored. Without power, standings and pairing sheets could not be printed - had to be handwritten.

Thank you for all the players and parents for enduring the unusual circumstances and conditions. Below are the results from Round 2; Brief Standings; Pairings for Round 3 for those players that had to leave early after Round 2:

Results Round 2 (White listed first)

Board 1: Devesh Cherukuri (1.0) - Nitesh Cherukuri (1.0) 0.5-0.5

Board 2: Gabriel Joshi (1.0) - Javant Maheshwari (1.0) 0-1

Board 3: Anish Mariappan (1.0) - Siddarth Kurup (1.0) 0.5-0.5

Board 4: Sherlock Grigsby II (1.0) - Carissa Zheng (0.5) 0-1

Board 5: Andy Yue (0.0) - Sandeep Thimmasamudram (0.5) 1-0

Board 6: Michael Deng (0.0) - Eliot Wu (0.0) 1-0

Board 7: Angelina Verma (0.0) - Anushka Skariah (0.0) 1-0

Board 8: Alexander Zlodorev (0.0) - Joshua Liu (0.0) 0-1

Brief Standings (tiebreak order)

2.0 - Jayant Maheshwari

1.5 - Nitesh Cherukuri, Anish Mariappan, Siddharth Kurup, Devesh Cherukuri, Carissa Zheng

1.0 - Sherlock Grigsby II, Gabriel Joshi, Angelina Verma, Andy Yue, Michael Deng, Joshua Liu

0.5 - Sandeep Thimmasamudram

0.0 - Alexander Zlodorev, Eliot Wu, Anushka Skariah

Pairings - Round 3 (Sunday 3/5/2023 10:30am) - White listed first

Board 1: Jayant Maheshwari (2.0) - Nitesh Cherukuri (1.5)

Board 2: Carissa Zheng (1.5) - Siddharth Kurup (1.5)

Board 3: Devesh Cherukuri (1.5) - Anish Mariappan (1.5)

Board 4: Angelina Verma (1.5) - Andy Yue (1.0)

Board 5: Joshua Liu (1.0) - Gabriel Joshi (1.0)

Board 6: Sherlock Grigsby II (1.0) - Michael Deng (1.0)

Board 7: Sandeep Thimmasamudram (0.5) - Alexander Zlodorev (0.0)

Board 8: Eliot Wu (0.0) - Anushka Skariah (0.0)

MD's Representatives at 2022 U.S. Open Invitationals

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by John D. Rockefeller V

Congratulations to Maryland’s representatives at the 2022 U.S. Open Invitationals, held during the U.S. Open:

• GM Larry Kaufman, 2313, tied for 6^th in the John T. Irwin National Tournament of Senior (50+) State Champions and will receive MD Chess's Irwin Stipend of $750. See the Irwin results.
• Neel Jay, 2108, tied for 20^th in the GM Arnold Denker National Tournament of High-School (9-12) State Champions and will receive MD Chess's Denker Stipend of $750. See the Denker results.
• Carissa Zheng, 2036, tied for 17^th in the WIM Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls (K-12) State Champions and will receive MD Chess's Haring Stipend of $750. See the Haring results.
• Thomas Diep, 1570, tied for 36^th in the Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle-School (6-8) State Champions and will receive MD Chess's Barber Stipend of $750. See the Barber results.
• Nitesh Cherukuri, 2087, tied for 8^th in the John D. Rockefeller III National Tournament of Elementary-School (K-5) State Champions and will receive MD Chess's Rockefeller Stipend of $750. See the Rockefeller results.

As a team, Maryland’s players tied for 18^th out of the maximum of 54 state affiliate teams. See the U.S. Open Invitationals’ state team standings.

MD’s state representatives were eligible to play in the FM Sunil Weeramantry National Blitz Tournament of State Champions, held several hours before the U.S. Open Invitationals. Separated into 4 sections by rating, players can compete against players from any of the U.S. Open Invitationals. See the Weeramantry results.