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The CCL Chess School

Chess, Community and Learning

 

Chess lessons and more, for players of all strengths and ages.

US vs Canada Online Youth Chess Match

August 4, 2020

This match will be played August 15th.  Almost half of the players are from CCL which includes 4 of the top 6 players.

Filed Under: News

CCL USCF rated online chess tournaments

June 9, 2020

Tournaments are run from 1:45 to around 6:30 on Saturdays.

G/25 d/3 USCF rated online quick only

5 round swiss system pairings, everyone plays all 5 rounds

They are free and a lot of fun!

Dates:

6/13
6/20
6/27
7/11
7/25
8/8
8/22

Filed Under: News

2020 Queen City Classic

March 3, 2020

CCL cleans up at the Queen City Classic

- Aryan Balyan wins the tournament (K-12) for the 2nd year in a row while the team comes in 1st place.

- Jack Hamilton wins the 4-6 section while the team comes in 1st place.

- Evan Fan wins the K-3 section while the CCL team comes in 1st place.

Despite a small turnout by CCL, we took control at the 2020 Queen City Classic

20200229_185146

K-12 team

(l-r) Matt Wang, Aryan Balyan, Siddarth Kunapuli

20200229_172134

4-6 team

(l-r) James Scarbrough, Colin Park, Jashwin Pisini, Jack Hamilton, Abhinav Pullabhotla

20200229_170949

K-3 team

(l-r) Evan Fan, Aryan Kondekar, Patrick Counts

Filed Under: News

Some Holiday Results

December 28, 2019

National Grade Levels

Elton Grade Levels

Elton came in clear 1st place in the 10th grade section of the 2019 National Grade Level Championships.  This has been an amazing year for Elton, adding to this result, he won the State of Ohio (adult) Championship and the National Junior U-15 Championship.

Top CCL results include:
11th grade - Vincent Baker tied for 5th
11th grade - Aristo Liu tied for 5th
10th grade - Elton Cao clear 1st place
6th grade - Rohan Padhye tied for 6th
6th grade - Edison Liu tied for 31st
4th grade - Siddarth Kunapuli tied for 16th
1st grade - Evan Fan tied for 36th

Cleveland Holiday Open

Mason Cleveland

Mason Wu finished in clear 1st place in the U-1200 section of the 2019 Cleveland Holiday Open.  He won $500 for his efforts.

Filed Under: News

CCL wins most of the grades at the 2019 Ohio Grade Level Championships

November 11, 2019

For a very long time we have won most of the grades at the Ohio Grade Levels.  This year was not an exception, with CCL  winning 7 of the grades.  It was an exciting event with many ups and downs.  The grade levels were at a nice facility this year and we had a great CCL room.  Although we had many top 5 finishes, I am only going to list our Grade Level Champions below. Complete results are at https://www.chesscincinnati.com/wp-content/uploads/Grade-Level-Individual-and-Team-Standings.pdf.

Grade 1 -Evan Fan; co-champion
Grade 4 - Siddarth Kunapuli; sole champion
Grade 5 - Brody Broderick; sole champion
Grade 7 - Dae San Kim; sole champion
Grade 8 - Michael Lin; co-champion
Grade 8 - Varun Sathyajeeth; co-champion
Grade 10 - Aryan Balyan; sole champion
Grade 11 - Vincent Baker; sole champion

Some pictures from the event are in the slideshow below.

Filed Under: News

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Introduction to Our Community Chess Instructional Program

Welcome to CCL, a community-driven chess instructional initiative designed to bring timeless chess to learners of all ages and skill levels. Whether you’re a beginner taking your first steps on the board or an experienced player seeking to sharpen your strategies, our program offers something for everyone.

Chess is more than just a game—it fosters critical thinking, patience, and problem-solving skills. Our program is built around the belief that chess can unite people, challenge minds, and create opportunities for personal growth and community connection. To supplement the chess side of individual enrichment, we recently opened a prodigious activities wing to CCL, managed by renowned mathematician and prodigy Dr. Harvey Friedman.

Why Join Us?

Our program is driven by a passionate community of chess lovers dedicated to creating an inclusive, supportive, and educational environment. For details on how the community fosters the program, please go to the menu option The Community. By participating, you’ll have the opportunity to:

  • Learn at your own pace with flexible instruction formats.
  • Join a vibrant chess community and make new friends who share your interests.
  • Enhance your cognitive skills, such as strategic thinking and decision-making.
  • Compete in local tournaments and represent our community.
  • Work with renowned mathematician and prodigy Dr. Harvey Friedman in other prodigious activities.

Let’s make chess an engaging and enriching part of our community. Join us today and start your chess journey! Together, we can grow our community and inspire a love for this incredible game.

The Coaches

  • alancasden2
    National Master Alan Casden
  • International Master Atanas Kizov -- CCL Head Coach --
  • Walker
    Life Master Walker Griggs
  • GM VLATKO BOGDANOVSKI
    Grand Master Vlatko Bogdanovski
  • Zoran
    International Master Zoran Arsovic
  • NM Vladimir Kizov
    National Master Vladimir Kizov
    Head of Pre-CCL
  • Jacob Eismann
    Jacob Eismann

The Rest of the Team

  • Jeff
    Jeff Shen
    Business Manager
  • Adai
    Adai Adaikappan
    Community Laison
  • Courtenay
    Courtenay James
    Organizer
  • Shiv
    Shivkumar Kurulekar
    IT System Admin
  • Jagdish Patel
    Jagdish Patel
    Newsletter Editor
  • Harvey
    Dr. Harvey Friedman - Head of Prodigious Activites

Recent Posts

  • NEWSLETTER OF THE MOTCF April 15, 2025
  • CCL March Chess Camps February 25, 2025
  • Siddarth Kunapuli becomes the 37th CCL Graduate February 2, 2025
  • Making our 2025 MOTCF Teams January 23, 2025
  • Welcome Jacob ! January 21, 2025
  • Jeff Shen is taking over the lead role at CCL December 26, 2024
  • Simul Stuff December 23, 2024
  • CCL Alumni/Student Chess GetTogether December 13, 2024
  • 2024 State Grade Levels November 27, 2024
  • Life Master Walker Griggs is giving lessons! October 29, 2024
  • Chess Math is here! October 27, 2024
  • An Evening with Atanas October 23, 2024
  • March CCL Chess Camps October 17, 2024
  • Maxwell again! Good Gosh September 16, 2024
  • Louis Zhang becomes the 36th CCL Graduate July 30, 2024
  • Major Changes in CCL June 6, 2024
  • Catch Up Time May 17, 2024
  • Cole Braun wins Ohio Middle School Championship February 27, 2024
  • CCL Chess Camp 4/20-21/2024 February 17, 2024
  • Rohan Padhye win Cardinal Open while CCL finishes very strong January 19, 2024
  • Mehmet is a National Champion December 19, 2023
  • CCL wins most of the grades at the Ohio Grade Levels November 25, 2023
  • Justin Storn wins State Championship while CCL soars September 5, 2023
  • Matt Wang becomes the 35th CCL Graduate May 23, 2023
  • 2023 MOTCF March 29, 2023
  • 2023 Queen City Classic March 29, 2023
  • Kevin Xu February 25, 2023
  • Minghao Gu becomes the 34th CCL Graduate February 6, 2023
  • Jason Wang wins the North American Open January 3, 2023
  • 2022 National Grade Level Championships December 31, 2022

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