Jan 2025 at Wells Middle School

142 youth and adult players competed for fun, glory and 40+ trophies and $500 in cash prizes at the Tri-Valley Open on Sat Jan 18th, a co-presentation of Emerald Hills Chess and Tri-Valley Chess League and part of our monthly tournament series. 

Check out our 12+ spring classes and after-school clubs around the Tri-Valley. And the registration link to our next tourney Feb 22nd in Dublin coming soon!)

The Open section was won by National Master Emmanuel Perez, who went a perfect 4-0 to win the $150 first prize.

Austin Chen continued his streak for a third month in a row to finish 3-1 and claim part of the second and third place cash prizes. Chen, Emerald Hills Chess Coach Kadir Baki and Jaideep Godara, each won $46.66.

Caleb Leong (2nd from right) won the $60 Top U1200 prize with a 2.5-1.5 score.

(Cash winners will be contacted later this week. Trophy winners that left early may pick up their prize at the Tri-Valley Open on Feb 22nd in Dublin, during our regular Sunday AM classes in Pleasanton, or by arrangement with Admin@EmeraldHillsChess.com .)

In the 36-player Experts (U1200) youth/adult section, John Green Elementary’s Jason Sun won clear first and the $100 cash prize with a perfect 4-0 score. 

He was followed by Fallon Middle School’s Reyansh Nuti and Aaron Ahsan, who tied for second with undefeated 3.5-0.5 scores and shared the $50 second prize. 

Nine players tied for 4th at 3-1, led by Nivedh Panchal (Mendenhall MS/Emerald Hills Chess), Sakshi Buregoni (American HS), Pranav Mehta (Top U1000, Emerald Hills/Fallon), Spencer Hu (2nd U1000), Ansh Shah (Pleasanton Middle), Mason Deeble, Jerry Lu (Emerald HS), Aditya Kotecha, and Shlok Narayan.

Ryan Chan Saha won the 41-player Premier (U800) youth/adult section with a perfect 4-0 score. Saurabh Singh and Shreyan Bose tied for second with undefeated 3.5-0.5 scores. 

Seven players tied for third with very strong 3-1 scores, in tiebreak order: Benjamin Tooney, Dhruv Jadhav (Coyote Creek Elementary/Emerald Hills Chess), Pradyun Mekala, Michael Haddad (Cottonwood Creek/Emerald Hills Chess), Anay Patel (Hart Middle, 1st U600), Yash Shah (Cottonwood Creek, 2nd U600), and Advaith Subramonia (Mohr Elementary). 

In the 29-player K-12 U400-rated Challenger, Alan Chen and Ronav Chhibber (Emerald Hills Chess) tied for first with perfect 4-0 scores. 

There was a six-way tie for third at 3-1: Anish Kumar (Cottonwood Creek/Emerald Hills), Nihira Madireddy (Cottonwood Creek), Josiah Choi, Rutvik Kumpatla, Krithik Bharani (Wells Middle School, 1st U200) and Utsav Godara (2nd U200, and part of a father-son winning duo!).

Finally, 18 first-time youth players competed in the non-rated Novices section. 

Trophy winners from the 6-player round-robin groups (first, second, and anyone else scoring at least 3.5 out of 5) were:

1st Place - Kavin Jayakumar (Foothill HS), Evan Li, Samarth Vineeth (Cottonwood Creek) and Shreyas Deepak (Hidden Hills/Emerald Hills Chess)

2nd Place - Haritaa Ramesh (Iron Horse MS), Vedant Rao (Coyote Creek Elementary)

Final Standings

US Chess Federation-Rated results and rating system explained

Thank Yous 

From lead organizers Emerald Hills Chess’s Eric Lai (Chief TD) and Bhavna Jain to:

• Our floor TDs, including: 

• Aryan Kumar, Nirav Jaiswal, Ethan Varghese, and Ratul Chakraborty from the Tri-Valley Chess League 

• Rishi Jain, Abhijoy Mukherjee, and Shivam Prasad, all Dublin High School students and assistant coaches at Emerald Hills Chess

• Our tournament host, Sara Quintero, head of the Wells Middle School Chess Club

Accelerate Your Gains at our Tournament Training Classes

Open to Gr1-12 students across the Tri-Valley, our small group (4:1 to 6:1 student:coach ratio) classes help players excel (see our many trophy winning students listed above) by providing:

• Personalized Feedback: One-on-one game analysis with expert coaches

• Competitive Practice: USCF-rated games to put newly-learned strategies into play

• Fun Variants: Play Blitz, Bughouse, and more!

• Flexible Scheduling: see below

Click for more info and register:

• Wednesday Evenings: Fallon Middle School, Dublin

• Sunday Mornings: Pleasanton Mathnasium

• Tuesday Mornings: Homeschoolers (Pleasanton)

Discounts are available for siblings. Trial classes are also available.

Learn, Compete and Socialize in Our After-School Clubs 

Our nine popular after-school clubs are led by dedicated adult professional coaches, who provide tailored, engaging lessons, and oversee competitive, USCF-rated games with trophies for top finishers. 

A great way to improve over-the-board, practice critical mental skills, and have fun with friends and classmates!  

• Cottonwood Creek K-8 (Dublin)

• Coyote Creek Elementary (San Ramon)

• Hidden Hills Elementary (San Ramon)

• Valley View Elementary (Pleasanton)

• Donlon Elementary (Pleasanton)

• Hearst Elementary (Pleasanton)

• Mohr Elementary (Pleasanton)

• Fairlands Elementary (Pleasanton)

• Walnut Grove Elementary (New in Pleasanton!)

Trial classes, half-sessions and sibling discounts are available.

For Fallon Middle School’s nationally-ranked Thursday after-school club, email FallonChess@gmail.com.

Lead Organizers

Emerald Hills Chess teaches more than 300 students through competitive after-school clubs and small-group tournament training classes in 12 locations in the Tri-Valley.

Tri-Valley Chess League is a Pleasanton student-led non-profit holding classes and tournaments.