ICA Education Stipend for High School Graduates

 

In 2020, the Illinois Chess Association started offering an annual education stipend for high school graduates in the amount of $500 as a way to say thank you to our youth for their continued membership and support of chess in Illinois. It is intended to help ICA members who are about to go to college, enter the military or consider a gap year after high school graduation.

Any current high school senior graduating in 2022, regardless of chess skills or tournament participation, who has been a member of the ICA since at least January 2020 is welcome to apply. Starting in 2024, eligibility requirements for the stipend will include uninterrupted ICA membership for all four high school years.

To apply, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by July 1, 2022 stating your name, contact information, date of graduation, and where you are going in the fall.

The drawing for the $500 stipend will take place on August 1, 2022 among those who apply by the deadline and meet the requirements.

If you have any further questions, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

 

IL Top 100 Girls (November 2021)

Happy Thanksgiving! This past month saw quite a few leaps and bounds amongst some of our talented young chess queens from Illinois. Congratulations to all 45 ladies for gaining/maintaining a spot on this list. Special kudos to the Namuunbayar sisters, Enkhjin (13) and Anujin (14), for coming back to the Top 100 Girls lists, and to Rosali Schneider (14) for her first time appearance!

Congratulations also to Linda Pham (12) for climbing over a hundred points to Class C rating territory, crossing the 1400 mark thanks to her stellar 3.5/5 performance in the 1200-1499 section of the Midwest Class!

 

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)               October ’21 Cutoff

Age 7 and Under    
36 Bothe, Devaanshi (17073438) 229
     
Age 8    
29 Zhan, Amy (17073114) 734
     
Age 9    
50 Varadan, Vijayalakshmi (16801573) 725
55 Ranjan, Nysa (16761560) 693
93 Berkey, Rebekah (16585623) 479
     
Age 10    
34 Hu, Angela (16747812) 1062
40 Jiandani, Mehak S (16108634) 1025
75 Sharad, Suhana (16943553) 834
     
Age 11    
58 Gansukh, Megan (16231843) 1054
71 Manimaran, Shivani (16614018) 983
75 Doddi, Sukhi (15850503) 953
     
Age 12    
27 Pham, Linda (15464538) 1432
42 Girish, Niyathi (16221570) 1356
98 Marsten, Joanna (16138168) 933
     
Age 13    
13 Raj, Ria (15844590) 1704
29 Zhao, Sophia Ziyan (16763001) 1510
37 Lee, Merrill (15703571) 1465
67 Namuunbayar , Enkhjin (15863824) 1217
83 Erdenebileg, Oyumaa (16243234) 1092
     
Age 14    
28 Adusumalli, Saanvi (15412194) 1538
32 Oberai, Anisha (15794814) 1518
36 Salian, Nisha (15767306) 1493
42 Musku, Himani (15932133) 1401
74 Pashyan, Sofia (15844997) 1173
78 Namuunbayar, Anujin (15863872) 1157
79 Liu, Catherine (15277304) 1143
100 Schneider, Rosali (15552287) 1005
     
Age 15    
5 Wisniowski, Natalie (15702390) 1971
18 Luster, Shakira Makayla (15641127) 1666
     
Age 16    
31 Tsyganova, Margarita (15922341) 1639
32 Lin, Sarah (15376582) 1620
35 Zhang, Louisa (15746981) 1584
58 Pashyan, Stella (15575165) 1249
64 Williams, Trechelle (15637011) 1163
69 Hill, Imani (16214855) 1114
87 Varadharajan, Saigeetha (16773343) 965
90 Dhananjaya, Priya Nandish (15473924) 846
91 Kuricheti, Umika (14579770) 822
     
Age 17    
6 Hoesley, Aria (14631046) 2103
13 Yan, Ashley (14957435) 1912
42 Rodriguez, Layla (15360516) 1336
     
Age 18    
3 Mangalam, Shreya (14385521) 2167
19 Shklover, Diana (14672010) 1527
21 Phillips, Rebecca (16628621) 1502
24 Grandy, Sarah Ruth (14279452) 1446
     

The 2021-2022 Class of Warren Junior Scholars and Rising Stars

 

The Illinois Chess Association is proud to announce the 2021-2022 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.

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Top 100 Female Players in Illinois (Oct. 2021)

 

With newcomer Amy Zhan (age 8), Illinois is again represented in every age bracket. We also welcome back on these prestigious lists Suhana Sharad (age 10) and Joanna Marsten (age 12).

Players of note this month include Shivani Manimaran, who climbed from rank 84 to rank 60, as well as Ria Raj and Shakira Luster, who are also moving up.

The cutoff date for this month’s lists was September 15, so the Midwest Class results are not yet included.

This is my last compilation of these lists. After writing about the Top 100 Girls in Illinois for the past 5 years, I am passing the baton to Megan Chen, who will continue these articles next month. So, for the last time from this author: CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

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Top 100 Female Players in Illinois (Sept. 2021)

 

A big round of applause to the 42 young ladies who represent the state of Illinois on US Chess’ most recent Top 100 Lists for Girls—from Shreya (rank 2), Natalie (rank 4) and Aria (rank 7) to 7-year old Devaanshi Bothe, our youngest candidate. These lists are generated on the third Wednesday of the previous month based on the players’ regular ratings for over-the-board play. Last year, US Chess added top 100 lists for online rating systems (blitz and quick), which can be found at their website.

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