Fremont’s MSJE Wins its Third National Elementary Chess Championship!

MSJE is the 2015 USCF National Elementary Chess Champion

Mission San Jose Elementary School hasn’t just won a third National USCF K-6 Championship in just seven years. They’ve become a scholastic chess dynasty! And if ever a dynasty needs an icon, Head Coach Joe Lonsdale can fill that role quite capably for the MSJE Chess Team.

 

Head Coach Joe Lonsdale with his beautiful wife Donna DePietro Woods.

Perhaps you haven’t heard of Joe Lonsdale yet but he is worthy of being compared with such great coaches as Mike Krzyzewski, Gregg Popovich, or Phil Jackson.  Coach Joe, who originally established the MSJE Chess Team for his sons back in 1990, has done much more than teach chess. He has created a model for running a successful scholastic chess program that is constantly being copied but never quite duplicated. Coach Joe’s approach to teaching chess isn’t rocket science. His coaching staff takes the time to thoroughly analyze every child’s game every Monday night as well as at all major chess events. Many coaches do something similar but lack the consistency and commitment to keep it up all year let alone for twenty-five years.

 

Every great coach needs more than his/her own skill and dedication to win national championships. It is, of course, the players who actually win the titles through competition. And MSJE had quite the talented bunch of kids playing in the Elementary Championship Section.

 

Teammates Kavya Sasikumar and Annapoorni Meiyappan.

The battle at the chess boards for these kids was difficult and in the end they received top honors by the slimmest of margins over I.S. 318 from New York. Sixth grader David Pan lead the charge by finishing tied for fifth place overall with an impressive 5.5/7. Super talented fourth grader Annapoorni Meiyappan finished only a half point behind David with 5/7. Next was the fourth grader Rishith Susarla with 4.5 and fifth grader Kavya Sasikumar with 4.

 

For now, it is once again time to celebrate a National Championship in Fremont, California. The victors can revel in their success. Soon after the party finishes, the kids will be coming to the Fremont Summer Chess Camp at, where else except for their own school’s gymnasium to hone their chess skills. Since only one of MSJE’s top scorers is graduating this year, you can bet they will be a strong favorite to repeat next year.

 

MSJE Coaches Joe Lonsdale and Chris Torres will be teaching at the Fremont Summer Chess Camp in Northern California. For more information on the Torres Chess and Music Academy and to register your child for the summer camp, please visit: http://www.chessandmusic.com 

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Coach Joe’s Report on the 2014 USCF National Elementary Chess Championships

MSJE Head Coach, Joe Lonsdale, Provides a Brief Summary of  Fremont’s Achievements At the 2014 National Elementary Chess Championships.

The MSJE Chess Team wins another National Championship!

The 2014 National Elementary School Chess Championships were held the weekend of May 9^th to 11^th in Dallas, TX.  More than 2,200 students from 107 schools competed in these championships. 17 MSJE (Mission San Jose Elementary School, Fremont, CA) students attended these championships.  MSJE won first place in the K-3 Championship section.  The MSJE Chess team is the 2014 National Primary School Chess Champion.  MSJE tied for fifth place in the K-1 section and tied for fourth place in the K-5 section.

Gomes Elementary School, also of Fremont won the Elementary school (K -6) division.  This is the second time in two years that two of the major elementary school sections were won by schools from Fremont, CA.  Last year Gomes won K-5 and MSJE won K-6.  In K-6 Joanna Liu and Jason Zhang each had five wins and a draw in seven games and tied for six place.  Ganesh Murugappan scored 5 points and William Sartorio scored 4.5 points.  The Gomes Elementary team is now the National Elementary School Chess Champions.

Coach Joe Lonsdale stands with the MSJE k-1 Chess Team.

In the K-1 section Arnav Lingannagari was the top scorer for the MSJE team with five wins and a draw in seven games (5.5 points).  Arnav tied for 12^th place and won a large trophy.  Allyson Wong scored five points, tied for 22^nd place and won a large trophy.  Shreyas Jay scored four points and Siddharth Arutla scored 3.5 points.  Ayaan Kassamali and Jolene Liu also competed for our K-1 team.  Shreyas, Siddharth, Ayaan, and Jolene all won trophies.

The Final Standings in the K-3 Section at the 2014 USCF National Elementary Chess Championships.

In the K-3 Section MSJE was the top rated team, but several teams from New York City were close behind.  Rishith Susarla was our top rated player at 1701 and came in with the top score of 5.5 points tying for 7^th place and winning a large trophy.  Second grader Kevin Pan (1534) and Annapoorni Meiyappan (1508) each scored 5 points tied for 17^th place and won large trophies.  Second grader Stephen He (rated only 925) was paired against a 1337 third grader from a top New York team in the last round.  Stephen won his game to give MSJE a perfect four point round and a clear first place.   We usually do well in the last round and our motto is “MSJE owns the seventh round!”  Atul Thirumalai, Shree Jay, and Amulya Harish each scored 3.5 points in the K-3 Championship section.  The MSJE team is the 2014 Primary School Chess Champion.

MSJE’s David Pan tied for second place in the k-5 section.

David Pan (1839) was the top rated player on our K-5 team and scored a fantastic 6 out of seven points.  David tied for second place and won a large trophy.  Kavya Sasikumar and Mihir Bhuptani each scored 4 points and Jeffrey Liu scored 3 points in this very tough section.  Our K-5 team tied for fourth place in the tournament.

Congratulations to the Chess Team for a great result at the National Championships.

 

*Former MSJE Student, Joseph Wan, took first place in the k-6 Championship division.

 

Chess students in Fremont get exciting lessons from Chris Torres.

 

The best chess experiences of a lifetime occur at the Mission San Jose Elementary School Summer Chess Camp. The camp will take place from June 30 through July 24 at MSJE in Fremont, California. In addition to all the great chess teachers detailed above, the 2014 Summer Chess Camp at MSJE will feature all the other highly accomplished Torres Chess and Music Academy coaches as well as a formidable line up of special guest lecturers. Every child who attends all four weeks will receive a camp T-shirt, a personalized study plan, a follow up private lesson with a Torres Chess and Music Academy instructor, and a diploma presented by Susan Polgar. All school aged chess players are welcomed to sign up but this camp is expected to fill up quickly. Sign up today to avoid missing out on all the chess magic the worlds best chess coaches bring to the Mission San Jose Summer Chess Camp in Fremont, California.

Sign up today at www.ChessAndMusic.com

Chess Players in Fremont, California are the Best in the United States

Two Schools in Fremont, California won National Championships at the recent United States Chess Federation’s National Elementary (k-6) Championships in Nashville, Tennessee.  Both Mission San Jose Elementary School and Weibel Elementary School have reputations of excellence in chess due to being the dominate teams at both state and national events. After their incredible results at the 2012 National Elementary (k-6) Championships, both teams seem determined to put Fremont, California on the map for being the city with the strongest scholastic chess clubs in the United States.

It was not an easy path for Weibel Elementary School at the 2012 National Elementary Chess Championships. In order to clinch the k-6 national championship, Weibel had to make a stunning comeback after being in fifth place with just one round to go.  Head Coach Alan Kirshner informed his team that the only chance they had to win the national title was if all four members won their final round games. Team members Kevin Moy(National Chess Champion), Michael Wang, Anthony Zhou and Steven Li answered his call and did just that. In doing so, Weibel became the second school from California ever to win the National Elementary k-6 chess championship. The first school to do this, in 2009, was their rival Mission San Jose Elementary School.

Winning first place team chess trophies is a regular occurrence at Mission San Jose Elementary School. Having taken all the Team State Championship trophies possible at the Calchess State Championships, Mission San Jose Elementary headed out to Nashville Tennessee with another National Championship in mind. Head coach Joe Lonsdale knew his kids’ chances were good of bringing home another national championship but also was acutely aware of the many other strong teams present at the National Elementary Chess Championships. At the end of the weekend, his youngest players in the k-1 championship section proved themselves to be the big heroes of the chess club. Rishith Susarla won six of seven games and tied for third place.  Rishith took home the fourth place trophy.  Edwin Thomas won scored 5.5 points (five wins and a draw) and tied for 15th place.  Amulya Harish, Annapoorni Meiyappan, and Kevin Pan each scored four points. By winning the k-1 national chess championship for the school, these young MSJE players have signaled to the other scholastic chess teams in California that Mission San Jose Elementary School’s supreme dynasty is likely to continue for years to come.

It is worth noting that players from both schools regularly attend camps and classes put on by the Torres Chess and Music Academy. For more information on our summer chess camps please visit www.FremontChess.com

2012 U.S.C.F. National Elementary (K-6) Chess Championship

Beginning May 11, Nashville Tennessee will host the 2012 U.S.C.F National Elementary Chess Championship. This is the paramount annual chess event for children ages 4-12. Below is a highly biased preview for this year’s event. The competitors listed in this article are all kids I have the pleasure of playing chess with on a weekly basis. What can I say . . . my job rocks!

Kids to Watch in the K-1

Collins Elementary first grader Milind Maiti possesses natural tactical abilities that are beyond anything one would expect from a player in high school! He is truly a chess prodigy of the highest level and will be a contender at the 2012 National Elementary Chess Championship.

MSJE kindergartener Kevin Pan is a rookie at this year’s Nation Elementary Chess Championship. Fresh from a State Championship win in California, Kevin is poised to make a big statement in Nashville.

MSJE student Rishith Susarla was nearly perfect at the USCF National k-12 Championship in 2011. If you talk with Rishith one of the first things you will notice is how quickly he speaks. When sitting across the chessboard from him, I often feel that he calculates much faster than the computer Deep Blue.

I first got to know Edwin Thomas (MSJE) at last year’s chess camp I ran at Mission San Jose Elementary School. Edwin progressed from a rookie to a trophy winner in just a few short weeks.

Amulya Harish (MSJE) and his father always seek me out at the local tournaments for extra instruction. I have no doubt that with his dedication he will quickly excel.

Rounding out the field for the fabulous MSJE K-1 chess team is Annapoorni Meiyappan, Aarti Abhijit Sant, and Stephen He.

Kids to Watch in the K-3

Luke Zhao is a third grader at MSJE and the only child from that school to be an official member of the Torres Chess and Music Academy All Star Team for the school year 2011-2012. Luke has played an important role in several successful championship runs for the MSJE team. Now he seems ready to play for his first individual championship.

Watch out for John Chan (MSJE) who recently claimed the title of K-3 champion at last month’s CalChess Scholastic Chess Championships.

Second grader Soorya Kuppam (MSJE) is my favorite opponent on Monday nights. It’s hard to believe that he has already been competing in chess for three years.

Don’t let Mihir Bhuptani’s (MSJE) quiet personality fool you. His crushing tactics are comparable to a rock concert.

Tommy Koh has played in integral roll in several MSJE championship victories.

The final touch to the MSJE powerhouse this year is Jeffrey Liu.

Ben Rood was also a part of the Torres Chess and Music Academy All Star Team for the school year 2011-2012. Ben has already won several National and State Championships and is playing the best chess I have ever seen from a second grader. Fresh off his k-5 State Champion win in California, this second grader is ready to win at the national level again. If Magnus Carlsen is the Motzart of Chess then Ben Rood is definitely the Beethoven.

Kids to Watch in the K-5

Sadly, MSJE was unable to bring a full team to the K-5 section this year. Despite being a player down, I am sure that the kids who were able to attend will give a phenomenal effort.

The first member of the K-5 MSJE Team is Amit Sant, of whom I am a huge fan. Drake Lin has grown from a nominal player out of dozens to a key player at MSJE over the last several years. Finally, we have Anjan Das who is attending despite his extremely busy schedule of other extracurricular achievements.

Kids to Watch in the K-6

We can only say that while we only have four competitors for our MSJE K-6 Team, these are the four kids I am most glad to see attending.

Eric Zhu is the first kids at MSJE to ever defeat me in a chess game. Alvin Kong is so eager to play chess he often arrives to chess class before any of the coaches and always gives Coach Joe Lonsdale the most trouble in their weekly skirmishes.  Sayan Das, Anjan’s elder brother, is similar to his brother in his prolific talents in all areas, especially on the MSJE Team. Finally, Shalin Shah is not only one of my favorite opponents, but one of my good friends. I look ahead with regret at the loss to MSJE as he and the other K-6 competitor’s graduate onto the seventh grade and greater challenges. I would like to add that we will be losing one other key asset to the MSJE Team as our sixth graders move ahead. Nimish Shah, Salin’s father, was a fantastic and devoted volunteer every Monday at MSJE. I have great respect for his dedication to his son and the MSJE chess Team.

It is a distinct pleasure to have played a role in all of these wonderful children’s chess development. Unfortunately, I will not be at this year’s tournament as I must stay home to help my pregnant wife. Yet I know that Coach Joe Lonsdale will successfully lead our Northern California Chess Competitors to victory. Check back daily for more updates on the exciting events from the 2012 National Elementary Championship.

National K-12 Chess Championship 2011, Day 1

The first day of the National K-12 Chess Championship is in the books and more than half the field of players can no longer contend for a National Championship. Two California six-year-olds are still in contention to bring home the ultimate prize. Both Rishith Susarla and Milind Maiti scored a perfect two wins out of two rounds. Tomorrow they will play three games and need three wins to keep their dreams alive. If they can manage to stay undefeated through day two, Milind and Rishith will need to win two more games on Sunday. Based on my experiences with Milind Maiti and Rishith Susarla, I feel it is very likely that one or both of them will remain undefeated through the three grueling days.

National K-12 Chess Championship 2011

Dallas, Texas is being bombarded by young chess players with dreams of national championships. Texans should not be alarmed by children armed with weighted chess pieces because November 18 – 20 is the 2011 United States Chess Federation’s National K-12 Chess Championships.
   The USCF National K-12 Chess Championship is the premier grade-level chess tournament in the United States. Chess players in grade 12 or below compete for three days in thirteen sections to determine the best school-aged chess players in America. Chess players in identical grades from the same school will also be competing for team standings.
   This year I have fewer students participating do to the fact that the World Youth Chess Championship in Brazil starts on the same day. Its unfortunate that the USCF and Fide would schedule championship tournaments that conflict with eachother. Even with the double scheduling, California will have several strong players representing the state.
   Two of my favorite six-year-olds will be in attendance. Milind Maiti of Cupertino went undefeated at the 2011 National Elementary Chess Championship and also finished first at the 2011 National Junior Chess Congress. Rishith Susarla of Fremont has worked as hard as any of my chess students for the last sixth months. Underrated at 1454, Rishith seems poised to win his first National Championship. Milind and Rishith are good friends and will likely rise to chess stardom aided by eachother’s successes.

United States G/30 National Chess Championship: Francisco Anchondo

Francisco Anchondo demonstratated his usual tactical bravado in the fourth round of the 2011 National G/30 Chess Championship. His opponent, Eric Schiller, attempted to play a rather dull carro-kann but Francisco steered the game into a violent fantasy variation. I was glad to see such an exciting game take place in the open section and believe that Francisco Anchondo’s overall tournament performance should provide adequate proof that dynamic chess can be very successful at national championship events.

 [Event “U.S. G/30 Championship”]
[Site “Santa Clara, Ca”]
[Date “2011.10.02”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Anchondo, Francisco”]
[Black “Schiller, Eric”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e5 Nfd7 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3
Qa5 9. Bd2 Qa4 10. Nh3 c5 11. Qb1 a6 12. Nf2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Qxd4 14. f4 Nc6 15.
c3 Qb6 16. Qc2 Qd8 17. Bd3 h6 18. O-O b5 19. Rae1 Bb7 20. f5 Nc5 21. fxe6 Nxe6
22. Ng4 Qe7 23. Be3 Qxa3 24. Bg6 Ncd8 25. Nf6+ gxf6 26. exf6 Qa4 27. Qb1 Rc8
28. Bd4 b4 29. Qf5 Qd7 30. Bh5 bxc3 31. Qg4 Kf8 32. Qg7+ *

United States G/30 National Chess Championship

California is set to host the U.S. G/30 Chess Championship on October Second, 2011. Having a U.S.C.F. National Championship in the Bay Area is a rare treat and many of my chess students are eager to win another national title. I will report live from the Santa Clara Convention Center and provide complete coverage of this exciting chess tournament.

Joseph Wan is a National Chess Champion

Joseph Wan of Nebraska won the k-3 Championship section at the 2011 National Elementary Chess Championships in Dallas, Texas. Joseph scored 6.5/7 and finished a half point ahead of his former California rival Rayan Taghizadeh. Joseph Wan’s championship is a rare win for the state of Nebraska at a United States Chess Federation national tournament.
   In 2009, Joseph Wan was a first grader at Mission San Jose Elementary School in Fremont, California. It was here that Joseph met chess coach Chris Torres and quickly became one of the top chess players his age in the state. Joseph Wan went on to become a State Chess Champion but narrowly missed winning the National Elementary k-1 Championship by committing a rare blunder in the endgame of his final round. With his championship run in 2011, Joseph has finally achieved the level of success coach Chris Torres always knew he was capable of.

Milind Maiti was Undefeated at the National Chess Championship

Torres Chess & Music Academy, Inc.

16691 Colonial Trail Lathrop, CA  95330 Phone (661) 699-8348 Chesslessons@aol.com

Press Release

Contact: Chris Torres Phone: (661) 699-8348

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 13, 2011

Kindergartener Milind Maiti Was Undefeated at the NATIONAL CHESS CHAMPIONship

Cupertino, CA, May 6-8, 2011: Cupertino five year old Milind Maiti was unbeatable at the 2011 United States Chess Federation National Elementary Chess Championships held in Dallas, Texas on May 6-8. Despite competing in a section with 294 of the best young chess players in the country, Milind won six games and had one draw which was good enough for a third place finish.  

   Milind Maiti’s path to becoming the top kindergarten chess player began at the age of four when his parent’s noticed his talents at solving jigsaw puzzles. A couple months later Milind’s interest moved towards building with Legos.  It was at this point that Milind’s father Chandan slowly introduced him to the game of chess which he enjoyed immediately.  For one so young, Milind’s desire to improve was immense. His parents began signing him up for tournaments very regularly. When he entered school, Milind started attending chess classes run by the Torres Chess and Music Academy. In spite of being a kindergartener, Milind quickly was promoted to the “advanced” class at the Collins Elementary School Chess Team. It was in this Class that Milind met chess coach Chris Torres, president of the Torres Chess & Music Academy. Chris has taught several national chess champions and he immediately recognized Milind Maiti’s remarkable talent and began training Milind to use tactics with greater effect.

In December of 2010, Milind Maiti traveled to Stockton for the Calchess Grade-level Championship. Milind won all his games easily and became the Kindergarten State Chess Champion. Over the next several months, Milind’s chess continued to improve at an incredible rate. In the first week of April, Milind Maiti competed in the Calchess Scholastic State Championships Kindergarten division, held in Santa Clara. During this tournament, Milind once again achieved a perfect score. For his remarkable performance, Milind Maiti became a State Chess Champion for a second time.

   According to his coach Chris Torres, Milind is the only kindergartener in California history to be undefeated at the State Grade Level Chess Championship, the State K-3 Chess Championship and the National Chess Championship in the same school year. Chris attributes Milind’s successes to his remarkable talent, love for the game, incredible work ethic and to the support that his parents Chandan and Smitha Maiti  provide.           

Chris Torres had other Torres Chess & Music Academy students to make him proud in the K-1 section. Chris’ other students included Ben Rood, from Walnut Creek, who tied for first in the individual competition. Five members of the Mission San Jose Elementary School team, Rishith Susarla, Chenyi Zhao, Soorya Kuppam, Jeffrey Liu, and Amulya Harish also placed third in the school competition.

-End-