ChessKid to Host 2nd Annual Online National Championship
PRESS RELEASE -- Chess.com LLC May 5th, 2013:
ChessKid.com is set to host the 2nd Annual Online National Chess Championship, June 14th-17th 2013. Founded and organized in June of 2012, last year's event was the first of its kind as the only ever online National Chess Championship - approved by the United States Chess Federation (USCF).
ChessKid.com is the "scholastic extension" of the world's largest chess website - Chess.com. By bringing so many of the nation's best and brightest youth chess players together for an event of this magnitude, ChessKid.com and the USCF hope to provide more exposure for the great game of chess, as well as all the benefits the game has on a child's cognitive development and critical thinking skills.
For many of these strong junior chess players (listed by age division below), it is their first experience playing in an "inviational / closed" event - a format generally reserved for very prestigious, high level tournaments. Like the first, this year's event brings together the nation's best scholastic chess players in each respective age group to battle over the web for a national title. To add to last year's Under 12 and Under 8 divisions, ChessKid.com has added two additional sections: an Under 10 and Girls Under 13.
The "Round Robin" format will see each player have a chance to face off against everyone in their age group. Each child will compete from a public location (mostly chess clubs) in their area, or from home under the observation from a "neutral" adult observer and their parents. The games will be broadcasted over the internet, with live commentary from National and International Master level chess coaches.
More information can be provided by David Petty, Site Manager of ChessKid.com by emailing davidpetty@chesskid.com.
2013 PARTICIPANTS - Click here to read the full details on the tournament format.
Under 8 Section
| Name | Rating | Age | Rank (Feb '13) | Rank (April '13) |
| Kevin Chor | 1783 | 7 | 1 | 7 (for 8 yos) |
| Atreya Vaidya | 1731 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Maggie Ni | 1718 | 7 | 6 | 3 |
| Henry Hawthorn | 1683 | 7 | 10 | 8 |
| Rishith Susarla | 1666 | 7 | 5 | 18 (for 8 yos) |
| Harvey Zhu | 1662 | 7 | 11 | 7 |
| Logan Wu | 1608 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| Balaji Daggupati | 1547 | 7 | 9 | 6 |
Under 10 Section
| Name | Rating | Age | Rank (Feb '13) | Rank (Apr '13) |
| Brian Gu | 1914 | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| Josiah Stearman | 1903 | 9 | 10 | 4 |
| Justin Paul | 1883 | 9 | 3 | 3 |
| Carissa Yip | 1864 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Anthony Ge | 1859 | 9 | 13 | 13 |
| Ajay Krishnan | 1852 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Joaquin Perkins | 1850 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Charles Hawthorn | 1839 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
Under 12 Section
| Name | Rating | Age | Rank (Feb '13) | Rank (Apr '13) |
| Bovey Liu | 2173 | 11 | 3 | 3 |
| Nicolas Checa | 2166 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Albert Lu | 2157 | 11 | 3 | 8 (for 12 yos) |
| Tanuj Vasudeva | 2112 | 11 | 5 | 4 |
| Andrew Zheng | 2093 | 10 | 3 | 3 |
| Luke Xie | 2057 | 10 | 5 | 7 |
| Marcell Szabo | 2051 | 11 | 10 | 21 (for 12 yos) |
| Annorjan Naguleswaran | 2030 | 11 | 11 | 8 |
Girls Under 13 Section
| Name | Rating | Age | Rank (Feb '13) | Rank (Apr '13) |
| Annie Wang | 2061 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Maggie Feng | 2021 | 12 | 1 | 2 |
| Rachel Ulrich | 2040 | 12 | 8 | 7 |
| Ashritha Eswaran | 2013 | 12 | 4 | 3 |
| Kiana Arab | 1956 | 12 | 3 | |
| Devina Devagharan | 1924 | 11 | 6 | 5 |
| Emily Nguyen | 1906 | 10 | 4 | 4 |
| Jennifer Yu | 1903 | 11 | 7 | 6 |
Danny Rensch is an international master and Chief Chess Officer at Chess.com. After a successful scholastic chess career, Danny joined Chess.com as a co-founder in 2009. He directs the company's content, media partnerships, and professional chess events. Danny is an accomplished commentator and broadcaster, which he used to establish Chess.com's streaming and creator programs. He has channeled his lifelong passion for playing and teaching chess to advance Chess.com's mission of growing the game and helping people enjoy their lives through chess. With over 200 million registered users, Chess.com is the leading platform for playing and learning chess.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/danielrensch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyrensch/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/danielrensch
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielrensch
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Rensch
Company Address: P.O. Box 60400 Palo Alto, CA 94306
Company Phone: 1 (800) 318-2827
Read “Dark Squares,” Danny’s Highly Anticipated Memoir
Danny Rensch has released his highly anticipated memoir on September 16, 2025. Described as Educated meets The Queen’s Gambit, this powerful and deeply personal book dives into his upbringing in an abusive cult and how chess ended up saving his life.
