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The CCL Chess School

Chess, Community and Learning

 

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

CCL goes International, welcome our new friends from Wales

August 15, 2013

Please welcome the newest members of CCL, Karanvir and Aishwarya.  These siblings live in Wales in the United Kingdom.  They are the first CCL members who live outside of the United States.  Both Karanvir and Aishwarya have qualified for the World Youth championships, which now makes it 7 CCL players who have qualified for this year’s World Youth Championship.  Since they live so far from us I would really like you to go out of your way to help make them feel like welcomed members of the CCL family.  It is a great experience to develop a pen pal from overseas, and what could be finer than for it to be another CCL player!  I don’t have their ICC handles yet but I will let you know them when I know.

Filed Under: News

CCL stands solid at the Cleveland Open

August 15, 2013

This was a pretty successful tournament for those who made the trip to Cleveland for this CCA tournament.  If you like the structure of this tournament, there are the upcoming CCA tournaments; Indianapolis Open and King’s Island Open. 

  • The big money winners were:
    • Abhi                      $500                     Top U-1900 class prize in U-2100 section
    • Vincent                $250                     Two way tie for 1st U-1600 class prize in U-1800 section
    • Richard                $ 33.33                 Six way tie for 4th place in U-1500 section
  • The 25 club members
    • Ayush                   +166      1265
    • Vincent                +89        1684
    • Richard                +78        1468
    • Nayan                  +72        1134
    • Abhi                      +67        1945
    • Anagh                   +65        1899
    • Aristo                    +63        1805
    • Kunal                    +45        1363
    • Nolan                   +36        1674

Filed Under: News

Chess-Soccer

August 7, 2013

The first ever chess-soccer match was held last Friday.  This event was organized and paid for by Mulligan Mark Johnson.  We had twenty participates which I broke into 2 teams.  There was Walker’s “Cheese Box” and Luke’s “Cheese Ball”.  It was a 5 round format where each chess game was worth 1 point (draws did not count) and each soccer goal was worth one point.

round 1 – 10 minute chess game     – Ball wins 5-4   Running total:  Box 4    Ball 5

round 2 – 3o minute soccer game   – Tied 2-2          Running total:  Box 6    Ball 7

round 3 – 10 minute chess game     – Ball wins 6-3   Running total:  Box 9    Ball 13

round 4 – 30 minute soccer game   – Box wins 7-2   Running total:  Box 16 Ball 16

round 5 – 5 minute chess game       – Box wins 6-3   Running total:  Box 22 Ball 18

As you can see, it was a very close and tense competition.  After three rounds Luke’s Cheese Ball felt like it was in the bag, with an relatively easy commanding lead.  However, under much verbal support from their team team leader, Walker’s Cheese Box made a huge comeback.

The kids had a thrilling time.   We will have to do this again sometime..

 

Filed Under: News

Jovana’s recent draw against the #2 women in the world

July 26, 2013

Check out this interesting game and commentary.  Jovana is playing former woman’s world champion Antoaneta Stefanova, a Bulgarian chess grandmaster, and a former Women’s World Chess Champion. She became the tenth holder of that title in 2004 in a 64-player knockout tournament held in Elista, Kalmykia under the auspices of FIDE.

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Filed Under: News

Whatitbelike wins U-1400 section of International 4545 league

July 26, 2013

  • Whatitbelike was the last of 18 teams standing in the U-1400 section of the International 4545 League!
  • Congratulations to team members:
    • Emily
    • Vincent
    • Cody
    • Daniel
    • Jacob
  • They did not lose a single match, throughout the whole season.  They won their division with 3 match wins and 3 match draws and 0 match loses and then went on to win both of their playoff matches.
  • Each player will receive a free 2 month extension to their ICC account as a prize.

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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