Columbia Chess Club Newsletter 2/9/2026

Brandmair

Feb 9, 2026, 7:35 AM | 0

Columbia Chess Club Newsletter

One-Day Sunday Camp with FM Kelvin Sanchez this weekend for paid members!

In This Issue:

Scholastic Championship Fast Approaching
Feb. 26 PSCL Results
Feb. 26 Time Trouble Blitz Results
This Week's Club Events
Weekly Results Corner
Stats Corner: Most Active Club Players of All-Time
Player of the Month: Jonathan McAulay
NM Mike Sailer Releases Feb. Advanced Class Syllabus
Become a Member / Get an Icon / Sponsor a Table / Support Us Free
FM Sanchez Tunnelvision Game of the Month: Carson Norton v. Austin Stinecipher
From the Discord
Some Chess Content
On the Horizon Schedule

View the Club Calendar >

Home Stretch for SC Scholastic Chess!

The 2026 State Championship is coming up on March 21, 2026 (only 40 days away).

The Palmetto Scholastic Chess League is a proving ground to ultimate success at the State Championship. Last year, River Bluff HS swept 1st at PSCL and went on to win the 2025 State Championship. Dutch Fork Middle and Lakeside Middle battled it out for 1st and 2nd at PSCL events in 2025 and then placed 1st and 2nd, respectively, at the State Championship. This year, those teams are again strong championship contenders, with more top finishes at PSCL, along with the notable New Providence Elementary School who has 4 first-place finishes in Elementary School this year! (See Past PSCL Winners)

There is only one more PSCL on March 7, 2026 until the big dance!

See the Scholastic Championship website for tips and flyers that will help you form your team and get ready. No team? No problem! The Championship awards individual prizes as well and is the official USCF qualifier event for the national tournament of champions!

Feb. '26 Palmetto Scholastic Chess League Results

February's PSCL is a wrap, thanks to all our players and congrats to the winners!

February 7, 2026
Columbia Chess Club
51 Participants

High School
1st Place Team
River Bluff High School

2nd Place Team
Orangeburg Prep

Individual Winners:
1st Place: Tyler Murrah
2nd Place: Logan Santos
3rd Place: Gabriel Vera
4th Place: Daniel Lim
5th Place: Owen Lovingood

Middle School
1st Place Team
Dutch Fork Middle School

2nd Place Team
Lakeside Middle School

Individual Winners:
1st Place: Thomas Kemp Jr.
2nd Place: Arnav Singh
3rd Place: Chace Nguyen
4th Place: Oliver Su
5th Place: Vivaan Biswal

Elementary School
1st Place Team
New Providence Elementary

2nd Place Team
Pellham Road Elementary

Individual Winners
1st Place: Sav Strickland
2nd Place: Abhiraj Saha
3rd Place: Lydia Nimmich
4th Place: Shivaan Desai
5th Place: Jasmitha Saravakota

Superlatives

Best Female Performance
Jaswitha Saravakota

Biggest Upset
Abhyudaya Raj

Best Debut
Otool Farouk & Owen Smith

Youngest Participant
Alvin Jordan

Feb. '26 Time Trouble Blitz Results

We had a great time at our friendly weekend blitz event! Thanks to all the players, with special congratulations to our winners:

1st: Thomas Kemp, Jr.
2nd: Arnav Singh
3rd: Aarush Panda
4th: Abhiraj Saha
1st U1800: Sean Miller
1st U1300: Abhyudaya Raj

This Week's Club Events

5:15 p.m. Developmental Class K-8 (register)
6:15 p.m. Developmental Class HS-Adult (register)

Despite winter weather, classes are still on! Enrolled students should check email for any developments to the contrary.

4:45 p.m. Kid's Night
Suited for K-12 players who are new or rated under 1000, we offer a rated tournament with a medal to the winner, an unrated tournament for new players with a USCF membership to the winner, and free casual play.

Kid's Night Registration

6:30 p.m.: Quad Night! G/25+5. Quads place you in a group of four players as closely rated to you as possible, with three rounds to determine the winner. $20 Entry fee can win $40 ($45 for a perfect score). You must be registered by 6:20 p.m. to participate, so don't wait until it's too late!

Quad Night Registration

5:15 p.m. Developmental Class K-8 (register) **New Class!**
6:15 p.m. Advanced Class (register) **New Time**

5:30 p.m. Quick 10+1: 3 Rounds of Quick G/10+1!
6:30 p.m. February Classical Month Round 2; one round of a month-long tournament. Upper section G/60+15, U1200 Section G/45+5 (meaning play is over by 8pm in lower section). Join any week, miss any week!

Main Meeting Registration

Free and exclusive for paid Columbia Chess Club members, FM Kelvin Sanchez lends his brain for some weekend chess training! Please RSVP!

Weekly Results Corner

Kid's Night:

Congratulations to Jolena Howard-Dew for winning a membership to US Chess as our unrated player! Earning the medal in our B Section is Jonathan Newton. Ezra Grice and Jack Bontrager are sharing first place with Ezra winning the medal on tiebreaks. Special thanks to coach James for running the tournament and to coaches Sean and Brandon for teaching our newest players.

Kid's N i ght Rating Report

Quad Night:

Congratulations to Oliver Su and Tyler Murrah for winning their quads!

Quad Night Rating Report

Thursday Main Meeting:

We had a great night with blitz and classical! Congratulations to NM Mike Sailer for winning this week. Welcome to our new player Miguel Rodriguez, and thank you to Simon Kubrynski for taking the drive from Charleston to play with us.

Blitz Rating Report

Player of the Month: Meet Jonathan McAulay!

Jonathan McAulay is our February 2026 Player of the Month. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Jonathan is currently in Columbia, South Carolina, where he attends Allen University on a band scholarship, majoring in mathematics.

Rated 1600 on Chess.com, Jonathan is a new over-the-board competitor who’s already giving our seasoned heavyweights a serious run for their money. Although he learned chess at a young age, it wasn’t until high school that he began pursuing the game with real focus—and it’s clearly paying off.

NM Mike Sailer Releases Feb. Advanced Class Syllabus

NM Mike Sailer has announced his February syllabus for the Advanced Class, featuring a World Champion Month - a series of lectures dedicated to the lessons taught by some of the greatest chess world champions.

Get the details on all of the Club's classes at our website.

Stats Corner: Most Active Club Players of All-Time

With active players defined as 10 games with the club in a 90 day period, here is the top list of "Most Months Active" going back to when the data started being tracked in 2007:

Become a Member / Get an Icon / Sponsor a Table / Support Us Free!

Become a Member: Help support the Club and take advantage of special pricing and exclusive perks!

Get an Icon: Get your portrait added to the Columbia Chess Club stream - be sure to upload before your next event!

Sponsor a Table: Have a brass plaque with custom engraving permanently installed on the edge of one of our tournament tables. (6 remain)

Donate to the Club: The Club remains volunteer operated and is bolstered by generous donations from the community. Consider donating and check out our Donor List recognizing those who have given to support the club's mission to grow chess in the midlands and throughout South Carolina.

Support the Club for Free: Consider one of the many ways to support the Club for free by patronizing our affiliate sponsors when you buy chess equipment, premium Chess.com accounts, and support us on social media.

FM Sanchez Tunnelvision Game of the Month: Carson Norton v. Austin Stinecipher

FM Kelvin Sanchez writes: This is currently the most important game of the Tunnelvision XL edition, held at the Columbia Chess Club, located in South Carolina, United States. The Game of the Month is between CARSON NORTON vs AUSTIN STINECIPHER in the [U1600] Section. Enjoy this Great game, Thank you! FM Kelvin Sanchez FIDE Instructor. VEN

From the Discord

Join our Discord to be part of our community chat.

Some Chess Content

Our 11-year-old fledgling chess blogger Thomas Kemp Jr. provides a recount of how he went 15.5/16 in a SINGLE DAY of chess at the Columbia Chess Club.

Answer at the end of the newsletter...

On the Horizon

Sunday, February 15, 2026:

Saturday, February 21, 2026:

Saturday, March 7, 2026:

Saturday, March 14, 2026:

Saturday, March 21, 2026:

See Club Calendar for Full List of Upcoming Events

Puzzle answer.... 1. Qxd4 and the c5 pawn is pinned against recapturing the Queen. (1... cxd4 2. Qxa5). If 1...Rxd5 Qxd5 removing the queen to safety up a knight.

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