Youth Chess News
Illinois Youth in USCF Top 100 as of December 2014
- Details
- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
In the game of Blackjack, 21 is a winning number. When it comes to youth chess, the Land of Lincoln has hit the lucky number -- but may not be satisfied to stand pat.
For the first time in history, Illinois now boasts 21 juniors rated 2000 or higher! With 9 more at 1900 or higher, 2015 may see that 21 and raise it!
With Arthur Xu's ascendency among the 7-and-unders, the Prarie State has four top 5 players in their respective age group.
As 2014 draws to a close, Illinois has 22 youth among the top 35 of their respective age group irrespective of gender, 31 among the top 50, and 56 active players among the top 100 in the 15 relevant lists.
Ian Gilchrist has returned to the top 100's as he and his father topped the Under 1900 section at November's Kings Island Open. For the first time, 18-year old Edgar Talayko has joined the list.
Dimitar Mardov boosted his rating 122 points since November's list. Arthur Xu climbed 110 points, Aria Hoesley jumped 108 and Dhruv Malladi's rating was enhanced by 99.
Also with strong showings: Alex Zhao up 81, Stefan Musikic up 64, Brian Gong up 56, and Miranda Liu up 52.
Despite maintaining his rating at 2139, Max Zinski went from the 36th rated 17-year old to the 20th rated 18-year old. (Max recently won the K-12 Blitz Championship in Orlando -- see story elsewhere on the site.) Happy Birthday, Max!
** Represents ranking in the listing without regard to Federation.
December 2014 Top 100 Youth
| US Rank | Name | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Age 7 and under | ||
| 5 | Arthur Xu | 1653 |
| 23 | Dimitar Mardov (age 6) | 1361 |
| 28 | Vrishank Ramnath | 1334 |
| 52 | Dhruv Malladi | 1168 |
| 61T | Alex Zhao | 1130 |
| Age 8 | ||
| 18 | Aaron Gan | 1704 |
| Age 9 | ||
| 10** | Martin Stukan | 1886 |
| 14 | Stefan Musikic | 1803 |
| 29T | Adam Bareket | 1696 |
| 48T | Patrick Rao | 1565 |
| 50 | David Zimmermann | 1560 |
| Age 10 | ||
| 5 | Aydin Turgut | 2042 |
| 28 | Advaith Prabu | 1824 |
| 51T | Brian Gong | 1722 |
| 84 | Siddharth Acharya | 1645 |
| Age 11 | ||
| 2 | David Peng | 2278 |
| 23 | Jason Daniels | 1944 |
| 30 | Ricky Wang | 1909 |
| 51 | Edward Zhang | 1797 |
| 55T | Shreya Mangalam | 1787 |
| 77 | Tom Bareket | 1720 |
| Age 12 | ||
| 24 | Vincent Do | 2053 |
| 45 | Marissa Li | 1891 |
| 47T | Tej Rai | 1866 |
| 94T | Ishaar Ganesan | 1744 |
| Age 13 | ||
| 21T | Jacob Furfine | 2117 |
| 24 | Matthew Stevens | 2093 |
| 32 | Hanson Hao | 2031 |
| 34 | Akhil Kalghatgi | 2011 |
| 59 | Miranda Liu | 1940 |
| 72 | Nikhil Kalghatgi | 1900 |
| 75 | Jonathan Tan | 1885 |
| Age 14 | ||
| 15 | Alex Bian | 2225 |
| 22 | Zhaozhi (George) Li | 2197 |
| 39T | Anshul Adve | 2110 |
| 71T | Jack Curcio | 1988 |
| 73 | Daniel Bronfeyn | 1986 |
| 84 | Nicolas Bartochowski | 1950 |
| 95 | Andrew Fei | 1926 |
| Age 15 | ||
| 32 | Spencer Lehmann | 2100 |
| 40 | Zachary Holecek | 2059 |
| 96T | Ian Gilchrist | 1870 |
| Age 16 | ||
| 66 | Jonathan Hrach | 2026 |
| Age 17 | ||
| 31 | Nate Kranjc | 2174 |
| 57 | Gavin McClanahan | 2072 |
| 82T | Bradley Guan | 2010 |
| Age 18 | ||
| 4 | Sam Schmakel | 2424 |
| 20 | Max Zinski | 2139 |
| 23T | Duncan Shepherd | 2104 |
| 42 | Joe Fennessey | 2045 |
| 49 | Timothy Zhou | 2007 |
| 69 | Jimi Akintonde | 1924 |
| 90T | Edgar Talayko | 1846 |
| Girls Under 21 | ||
| 45 | Miranda Liu (13) | 1940 |
| 53T | Marissa Li (12) | 1891 |
| 87 | Shreya Mangalam (11) | 1787 |
| 89 | Caeley Harihara (17) | 1774 |
| Girls Under 16 | ||
| 21 | Miranda Liu (13) | 1940 |
| 25 | Marissa Li (12) | 1891 |
| 49 | Shreya Mangalam (11) | 1787 |
| 68 | Shayna Provine (14) | 1729 |
| Girls Under 13 | ||
| 9 | Marissa Li (12) | 1891 |
| 18 | Shreya Mangalam (11) | 1787 |
| 67 | Aria Hoesley (10) | 1491 |