CHESSanity - In the News

WESLEY WANG featured on US CHESS PODCAST

6/17/2021

The February 2021 Edition of US Chess' long running podcast "One Move at a Time" hosted by Daniel Lucas features co-founder Wesley Wang discussing CHESSanity's nation wide impact, his experiences at the 2018 U16 Olympiad and winning Amateur East twice, and his passion of filmmaking.

You can check it out here!

co-founder Warren is 1 of 15 long island students named aN "extraordinary senior" by newsday

6/8/2018

On June 8, Warren was given the honor of being named an "Extraordinary Senior" by Newsday, the premier news source for Long Island. 15 graduating seniors throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties were given this tremendous honor. CHESSanity, in particular, was highlighted as Warren's ultimate contribution to the community surrounding him. To read the report by Pulitzer-winning journalist Michael Ebert, please click on the links below.

2018 Extraordinary Seniors
Warren's Article

CO-FOUNDER WARREN WANG NAMED U.S. PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR SEMIFINALIST

4/18/2018

Every year, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes and honors "some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors" in its Presidential Scholars Program. Today, Warren was one of 630 students out of approximately 3.3 million (!) graduating American seniors named as a semifinalist. Scholars will be announced in early May. Regardless, being named a semifinalist, one of the nation's top student honors, is a truly incredible achievement. Congratulations to Warren!

For more information about the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, please click here.

Podium Finishes for CHESSanity Alumni at the 2017 World Cadets Chess Championship

9/1/2017

At the 2017 edition of the World Cadets Championships in Pocos de Caldas, Brazil, CHESSanity boasted three alumni (Liran Zhou, Ellen Wang, and Lisa Jin) representing Team USA.

Of America's 7 total medalists, CHESSanity is proud to pronounce two of them as former students. NM Liran Zhou (see our article about his record-breaking achievement here) took gold in the U10 Open section, scoring an astonishing 9.5/11 without a loss! Ellen also scored impressively, tallying 7.5/11 to take bronze in the U10 Girls section on tiebreaks. Lisa fought hard, but settled for a 27th-place finish in the same section with 5.5/11, losing the heart-breaking final two rounds.

We are honored to have once coached these three talented young children. We hope many more medals are to come!

To read more about Team USA's impressive medal tally at the 2017 World Cadets, please visit US Chess's official press release.

Liran Zhou (pictured), the 2017 World Cadets U10 Gold Medalist (photo courtesy of the Zhou family)

Ellen Wang (pictured), the 2017 World Cadets U10 Girls Bronze Medalist (photo courtesy of the Wang family)

CHESSanity Alum Liran Zhou Becomes YOUNGEST NATIONAL MASTER EVER

8/14/2017

On August 13, 2017, at just 9 years, 3 months, and 22 days old, Liran Zhou became the youngest US Chess National Master ever. Previous record holder Christopher Yoo became an NM just shy of his 10th birthday: Liran shattered the record by approximately 8 months.

Liran was a student at CHESSanity's "Novice" and "Future Masters" programs during the 2014-15 school year. We personally witnessed his exponential rise from a complete beginner to a 1400-level player in less than a year. While we would like to claim some credit for Liran's historical achievement, at the end of the day, it was his hard work and passion for the game that took him this far. Kudos to Liran and his family! We at wish him all the best in his future endeavors, whether in chess or elsewhere.

Liran Zhou, America's youngest National Master (photo courtesy of the Zhou family)

To read more and see some of Liran's games from his record-breaking tournament, please visit US Chess's official press release.

Our 2017 World Cadets Qualifiers!

4/7/2017

CHESSanity is pleased to announce that three of our former alumni have qualified for the upcoming 2017 World Cadets Chess Championships to be held August 21-31 in Pocos de Caldas, Brazil.

The following names have officially qualified via the February supplement:

Liran Zhou - Open Under 10
Ellen Wang - Girls Under 10
Lisa Jin - Girls Under 10

Congratulations to Liran, Ellen, and Lisa! We hope to see many more CHESSanity students following in their footsteps next year.

To see a full list of all 89 American qualifiers, please see the Official US Chess Press Release

6 CHESSanity Graduates Among America's Best

6/18/2016

As of June 2016, six outstanding CHESSanity graduates have made US Chess's monthly list of the top 100 American players in each age group. (Note: these lists are updated monthly; thus, rankings may fluctuate from time to time)

The following alumni have established themselves among the very best:

Liran Zhou (#1 in Age 8)
Ellen Wang (#2 in Girls Age 8 and #24 in Age 8)
Lisa Jin (#4 in Girls Age 8 and #49 in Age 8)
Mofan Yu (#10 in Age 7 and Under)
Edison Huang (#30 in Age 7 and Under)
Jeffrey Zhai (#90 in Age 8)

Kudos to these six talented youngsters' hard work and passion for the game!

To see the June 2016 "Top Players Lists", please see the Official US Chess Lists

Greater NY Scholastics (2/5/17)
Back, left to right: Wesley and Warren
Front: Lisa Jin, Ellen Wang, Jeffrey Zhai,
Edison Huang, and Liran Zhou
Note: only missing Mofan Yu

Our 2016 World Cadets Qualifiers!

4/21/2016

CHESSanity is pleased to announce that two former alumni have qualified for the upcoming 2016 World Cadets Chess Championships to be held October 18-31 in Batumi, Georgia.

The following names have officially qualified via the April supplement:

Ellen Wang - Girls Under 10
Liran Zhou - Open Under 8

Congratulations to Liran and Ellen! We hope to see many more CHESSanity students following in their footsteps next year.

To see a full list of all 94 American qualifiers, please see the Official US Chess Press Release