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Chess News Wire -- August 2025

• IA and NTD Alex Relyea, who recently moved from New Hampshire to Bloomfield, Connecticut, passed away this Saturday in West Hartford after long-term illness. Alex will be remembered as one of the few independent New England-wide and National organizers, organizing and directing events in Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and nationally. Alex is survived by his wife, Nita Patel, who is also a Senior Tournament Director. (8/19)
  
  
• Semyon Rayz won the Chess & Art Tournament, held August 16 at Parkville Market (Hartford). Rayz finished second in the Open Arena, winning five games and scoring 14 points, but was overtaken by Benjamin Usadi, who used Berserk and Streak bonuses to score 18 points on four wins. The two then played a final match on the giant chess board prepared by Artist Ashley Innocent, also known as Ashley the Creator, and Rayz outlasted Usadi to claim the event title and the custom artwork first place trophy. (8/17)
  
  
  Semyon Rayz (white vest) playing Benjamin Usadi on the
  Artist's Board at the 2025 Chess & Art event at the Parkville
  Market in Hartford.
  
  
• NM Jasmine Su achieved direct WIM title at the Pan American Youth Championships in Lima, Peru, held July 27 to August 3. Jasmine won gold at the event with 8.0/9 score in the Under-18 Girls division. (8/7)
  
  
• NM Nathaniel Moor finished 15th at the 2025 U.S. Open, scoring 7.0/9, including a win in Round 3 over eventual second place winner, GM Daniel Naroditskiy, and a loss in the penultimate 8th Round to the eventual Champion, GM Dariusz Swiercz. Nate's performance was not only the top Connecticut result, but the top result for all non-FIDE-titled players. The 2025 U.S. Open was held July 28 to August 3 in Middleton, Wisconsin and included 514 participants, its largest attendance since 2021. Connecticut was also represented by NM Brian Weisz and James Weisz. See final standings from the 2025 U.S. Open. (8/3)
  
  
  NM Nathaniel Moor (right) facing 2025 US Open
  Champion GM Dariusz Swiercz in Round 8.
  Photo courtesy David Llada
  
  
• The US Chess Annual Meeting was held today in Middleton, Wisconsin. Updates include movement of the rating system to a third-party service provider, extensive budget and event shortfalls, and Alaska's second new State Chapter in six years. See complete report from our Facebook page. (8/2)
  
  

Chess News Wire -- July 2025

• Team Connecticut at 2025 National Invitationals: Lilianna Gao, who represented Connecticut in the Haring Girls Invitational for the second straight year, led all Connecticut players with 4.0/6 and Connecticut's best 2025 Invitational placement, finishing in 11th place in her event. NM Mikhail Koganov and Lacey Wang scored 3.5/6 in the Irwin Senior and Barber Grades 6-8 Invitationals, respectively. Also representing Connecticut were Cody Wu, who scored 2.5/6 in the Rockefeller K-5 Invitational, and Jason Bai, who scored 0.5/6 in the Denker High School Invitational. The 2025 Connecticut team score--a combined score from all state representatives--was 14.0/30, putting Connecticut in 30th place out of 53 delegations. (7/31)
  
  
  Left to right: Jason Bai, Lacey Wang, Lilianna Gao,
  Cody Wu and NM Mikhail Koganov at the 2025 National
  Invitationals in Middleton, Wisconsin.
  
  
• Massachusetts' GM Jianchao Zhou won the 2025 CCA Bradley Open, scoring a perfect 5.0/5 in the Major section of the event. Mark Wilkin finished tied for first in the U2100 section for Connecticut's top result, scoring 4.5/5. Connecticut's Alexie Petrov won the U1500 section also scoring 4.5/5. NM Jordan Groff had the best Connecticut finish in the Major section with 3.5/5. Review the complete results here. A total of 239 players participated, of whom 81 were from the host state. (7/27)
  
  
• Connecticut's NM Jasmine Su is back at St. Louis Chess Club for the 2025 U.S. Girls Junior Championship. (photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller, SLCC) (7/20)
  
  
  
  
  
• Due to unforeseen circumstances, the July 19 Meeting of the CSCA Summer Club is postponed. A new date will be determined next week, and applicable refunds issued. Apologies to our players for the unexpected change. (7/18)
  
  
• CSCA unveils the inaugural 2025-26 cycle year Connecticut Grand Prix (CTGP) with $2,500 ($1,000-500-400-300-200-100) in prizes. The competition period is from September 1 to August 31. Organizers are invited to review CTGP rules and terms and submit their events for inclusion. The 2025 Fairfield County & Norwalk City Championships on September 6 and the Connecticut Open on September 20 will be the first two CTGP events with 20 and 60 enhanced CTGP points, respectively. Players should review the CTGP rules for point eligibility. Questions about the CTGP may be directed to the CSCA at events.CSCA@gmail.com. (7/18)
  
  
• On July 12, 2025, FM Zachary Tanenbaum won the 2025 Connecticut Summer Classical, held simultaneously at the e4 Chess Academy and Norwalk Public Library. Zach edged out Corin Gartenlaub of New York on tie breaks, after both finished 3.5/4. Gilad Drillich of New Jersey captured the Top U2200 prize. Vedanta Bhargava was first in the U2000 section, after edging out Matt Chen on tie breaks. Aaron Piao won the U1400 with a perfect 4.0/4. Aayush Negi won the New England section. And Bhanutej Gottam won his first title in the U800 section after besting Tarushi Panda in an Armageddon tie break playoff. 101 players participated in the event, setting Connecticut and New England records for a summer tournament event. [See full story with standings and rating reports on the CSCA Facebook Page] (7/14)
  
  
  58 players took part in Round 4 of the Summer Classical,
  setting an attendance record for the e4 Chess Academy.
  
  
• FIDE adopted US Chess 1-year ban against 18-year-old US GM Christopher Yoo and also added a 5-year international probation for the physical assault of broadcast staff at the 2024 U.S. Championship in St. Louis. (7/1)
  
  

Chess News Wire -- June 2025

• Connecticut’s Lilianna Gao won third place at the 2025 Polgar Girls Invitational, held at Webster University, St. Louis, June 23- 24! Lilianna scored 5.0/6, defeating three WCMs on her way to a four-year scholarship to Webster University and $1,450 in cash prizes. Lilianna’s younger sister, Isabella Gao also took part and finished 35th of 62 on a score of 3.0/6. Congratulations to the Gao sisters for their strong representation of our state in this annual national tradition! (6/27)
  
  
  Lilianna Gao (center) at the Polgar Invitational Awards
  Ceremony.
  
  
• GM Vladimir Kramnik sues Chess.com and GM David Navara for defamation, following Navara's written response to Kramnik's cheating accusations, which are supported by Kramnik's own statistical analysis. (6/25)
  
  
• CSCA introduces Summer Chess Club, which will meet at the East Hartford Library on June 28, July 19, August 2 and August 9, with low participation fees and various activities, including G/90 classical and speed chess. See club flyer. (6/10)
  
  
• 56 play in the New Britain Chess Club's Planet Earth Championship. Will Johnson was the only player to survive the 30-player Open section unscathed, finishing 3.0/3 and this year's event champion. Meanwhile, Ben Adelstein won the U1600 and Max Mashkov the Scholastic. (6/7)
  
  

Click here for 2025 news archive or visit our Archive for prior years.