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Florina Zhu and Ryan Zhu are sister and brother hailing from NJ. They both have had extensive experience playing at the regional, national, and international levels, and are top ranked players for their ages in NJ and nationwide. After quickly setting up a plan and putting it into action, they have successfully solicitated donations from local chess club members and coaches upon their initial effort.

Henry Tang and Benjamin Lin are students from Northern Pittsburg and will be leading the Pennsylvania chapter. Their school district has been graciously supportive for their endeavors and is offering great help to mobilize chess enthusiasts district wide.

IM Nico Chasin from NY is a great addition to the team. He will take the leadership role within the NY chapter for the chess library project, and in the meanwhile, help expanding the online teaching program offered to African scholastic players.

Please visit https://www.chessctc.org/about for the new chapter leaders’ bio, experience, and chess views.

The event kicked off with grand opening remarks, where UQ members briefed on how their chess journey led to the formation of the all-female group. They also recalled the numerous online camps and tournaments they held throughout the pandemic, and how their persistence culminated in their first in-person festival post pandemic. UQ expressed their immense gratitude towards US Chess Women and Jennifer Shahade, who generously provided funding for the event, as well as the New York State Chess Association, Chess-in-the-Schools, and the Marshall Chess Club, and of course the volunteers who were helping on site.

The first activity was a simul exhibition, where WIM Ellen Wang and WFM Yassamin Ehsani, two founding members of UQ, each battled 10 aspiring players at once. All the competitors put up admirable fights, with two rising stars Anjyu Fujita and Lilianna Gao winning their games!

An exciting 6-round blitz tournament followed, with players of all ages, levels and both genders. Alice Shen surged ahead quickly, with a score of 5/5 before losing in the last round to Eric Niyazov. This warranted a 3-way tie for first place, with Niyazov taking the top spot, Gao placing in second and Shen in third based on tiebreaks.

Off the board, participants also showed their tactical prowess through a puzzle contest, which featured everything from checkmate-in-ones to endgame studies. Ultimately, the top solvers were Gao in first place, Dhruthi Rao in second, and Shen in third.

The event concluded with some inspiring remarks by the UQ girls – they hope that each and every one of the participants, especially the girls, continues the hard work, shows tenacity and courage over the chess board, competes with an unruly spirit and most importantly, enjoys chess!

For pictures and video recap of the event, please visit UQ Flickr Album & YouTube Channel.  

Madison describes her daily routine to help her stay comfortable throughout the tournament, despite her unfamiliarity to the Palm Springs summer weather that consistently flies over 110 Fahrenheit. She also deep analyzes her loss to Ellie Zhang of Southern California, reflecting on her lessons drawn from the game, i.e., to stay calm through critical situations, and offering her advice to other girl players to persevere in spite of others’ comments or labels.

Laurel presents one of her games, a victory that features many tactical and decisive moments. She also highlights the social aspects of the tournament: singing the National Anthem at the opening ceremony, a pizza party where participants chatted and mingled, and bowling with her family!

Although the Ruth Haring Tournament can be one of the most intense and grueling battles for girls, both Madison and Laurel emphasize the unique aspect of the event: the opportunity and the honor of being able to compete with girls from across the nation! The shared camaraderie among all the players was remarkable, and the lifelong friendships forged through their play will be forever cherished.

To read the latest issue of the Chess Connections Magazine, where these two articles are published, please visit Chess Connections Magazine.