A Vibrant End of the Year in Hong Kong chess!
The Chess Academy held The 14th Annual End of the Year Tournament at the Bloom KKCA Academy on Dec 4, 2022. The event was very well attended with over 100 keen young players from 45 different schools. Thanks to the Bloom KKCA Academy for allowing us to host this event at their beautiful campus!
This year, we have structured a special section in the tournament – the TCA Young Masters Invitational. We have invited 6 especially talented players in Hong Kong; these talents have represented HK in the Olympiad, East Asian Games and were winners of National Championships. We hope that by recognizing their achievements and treating them as role models at this event, we could further inspire and encourage other less experienced and young chess players to develop this passion.
After the 7 rounds of the exciting matches, our Grand Masters Coach Andres, International Master Coach Carlo and the TCA Young Masters did a fun simultaneous demo, which each of them were challenge by 3 players at the same time. For the simultaneous games, the masters would move from one board to another board; they would need to move quickly and have precise thinking on the moves with each opponent.
After the simultaneous games, we finally had our closing ceremony starts. Here is a summary by category, where fair play and enjoyment by the participants prevailed.
In The TCA Young Masters section, Theodore Lam was the champion, with 3.5 points, and only losing to Boris Chan. Second place went to Thanneermalai Kannappan, who accumulated 2.5 points, the same as Boris Chan, who was third.
Johnathan Lundberg won the U7 section convincingly, with 7 victories in 7 games. Second place went to Andrew Liu, with 5.5 points, the same as Colt Ellison, who finished in third position. They were followed by Clayton Lau, with 5 points, became the Age 7 winner. For his part, Charles Ke was the Age 6 winner, accumulating 4 points, and Arthur Chan was the Age 5 winner, with 3 points in the competition.
With the intention of encouraging the female chess playing and presence in the tournaments, unlike most events, we have created a special award category for the top 3 female players. In this event we award trophies to the three best ladies in their respective age groups. In the U7 section, first place went to Sonia Peng, second to Aida Huda Yung and third to Megan Lee. The three players added 3 and a half points, defining the locations with the tiebreakers of Buchholz and Sonneborn-Berger.
The U9 section, we had Patrick Wong as the great winner, with a perfect score of seven victories. The second position for Darius Tan, with 6 points and who only lost to the third placed, Kingsley Chan, who had 5 points. Edward Shi was the Age 8 winner, while Faris Mohiuddin was the Age 9 winner. Among the women, the first was Twisha Srivastava (5 pts.), the second Hei Lam Wong (5) and the third Vivian Sun (4).
The champion of the U11 section was Yueh Hoi Fung, accumulating 6 points out of 7 possible and only losing to Victor Xing. The runner-up was Wen Xi Fan, with 6 points, leader throughout the tournament, but who lost in the last round to the champion. Third place went to Kainos Wong, with 5 points. Hoi Fung Yueh stands out for winning in this category at the age of 9, in addition to the girl Wen Xi Fan, for being second in the general table, which is why Victor Xing received the third prize. Shaunak Bhatewara was the Age 10 winner. Among the women, the best was the aforementioned Wen Xi Fan, second place for Anika Shenoy Sridhar and third for Chloe Lau.
In the U18 section, the champion was Michael Chan, with 6 victories with 6 points, followed by Pranav Ragavan Sanjay, with 4.5, and Gabriel Yeung, with 4. It is worth highlighting the participation of Leon Han in this range despite being 11 years old, accumulating 4 points, showing a good sporting level. Additionally, the presences of Nathaniel Zhu (winner in the 12 years), Samuel Pitkevich (13 years) and Adrian So (14) were exalted. Among the women the best was Lam Tsz Yin, second Curly Xing and third Margaux Marcet.
Here are the full results of the tournament.
Age 5 winner – Arthur Chan*
Age 6 winner – Charles Ke*
Age 7 winner – Clayton Lau*
Age 8 winner – Edward Shi*
Age 9 winner – Faris Mohiuddin*
Age 10 winner – Shaunak Bhatewara
Age 11 winner – Xia Weijun
Age 12 winner – Nathaniel Zhu*
Age 13 winner – Samuel Pitkevich
Age 14 winner – Adrian So*
For U7 section – Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com – TCA – U7 End of Year Tournament 2022
1st place winner – Johnathan Lundberg*
2nd place winner – Andrew Liu*
3rd place winner – Colt Ellison
1st place female – Sonia Peng
2nd place female – Aida Huda Yung
3rd place female – Megan Lee*
For U9 section – Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com – TCA -U9 End of Year Tournament 2022
1st place winner – Patrick Wong*
2nd place winner – Darius Tan *
3rd place winner – Kingsley Chan*
1st place female – Twisha Srivastava
2nd place female – Wong Hei Lam*
3rd place female – Vivian Sun*
U11 section – Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com – TCA – U11 End of Year Tournament 2022
1st place winner – Yueh Hoi Fung
2nd place winner – Kainos Wong
3rd place winner – Victor Xing
1st place female – Wen Xi Fan
2nd place female – Anika Shenoy Sridhar
3rd place female – Chloe Lau *
U18 section – Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com – TCA -U18 End of Year Tournament 2022
1st place winner – Michael Chan
2nd place winner – Pranav Ragavan Sanjay
3rd place winner – Gabriel Yeung
1st place female – Lam Tsz Yin *
2nd place female – Curly Xing
3rd place female – Margaux Marcet
* Students who are under the coaching of The Chess Academy
We are delighted with the results of all our TCA students and the improvements that they have made. Our TCA Road-to-Masters Program will start again in January, don’t miss the chance to learn from the BEST TCA Team.
Also, don’t miss our Triple E Winter Camps 2022, students will learn a lot while having tons of laughs! Click here for the camp details.
Stay tuned with The Chess Academy for our upcoming chess events in 2023!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!
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