The Field
Annie Wang
Annie Wang started playing chess when she was 5, after being introduced to the game at a simultaneous exhibition in a nearby park. In 2017, she won the Girls U-16 section of the World Youth Chess Championship with a score of 10.5/11. Her other accomplishments include placing second at the 2018 U.S. Women's Championship and earning a bronze medal at the 2016 World Youth Chess Championships. In 2014, at the age of 11, Annie broke Irina Krush's record for the youngest female national master in the US; later that same year, she won the North American Youth Chess Championships for girls under 18, despite being only 12 at the time. Throughout the last few years, Annie has been promoting chess by running a free chess program for kids at a local library and volunteering in numerous chess-related activities. Today, Annie lives in Los Angeles, California. Outside of chess, she plays the piano and enjoys reading, running, and spending time with her friends.
Thalia Cervantes
Thalia Cervantes Landeiro is a 18 year old Woman International Master and FIDE Master. She is one of the best players in the country and in May 2021, achieved her Women Grandmaster title and first International Master norm.
Martha Samadashvili
Martha Samadashvili is a Woman FIDE Master. She learned how to play chess in 2012 when she was 8 years old. In 2013, Martha became North American Youth Champion GU10. In 2014, she won the North American Youth Chess Championship GU12, giving her the WFM title. The same summer, she became the Pan American Youth Chess Champion by winning all nine games in the GU10. She became a National Master at the age of twelve in 2017. Martha is also a three-time New York State Girls Champion, winning the tournament in 2018, 2019, and 2020. This is Martha's 4th time playing in the Junior Girls Championship.
Rochelle Wu
Rochelle started playing chess at the age of six. She won the gold medal in the 2016 World Cadet Chess Championship U10 Girls section. In 2017, Rochelle took first place in the National Girls Tournament of Champions. At age of 11, she earned her National Master title. Rochelle earned the WIM title by winning the 2018 North American Junior Girls Championship. She has been invited to participate in the Young Stars program, a chess training program coached by Garry Kasparov. In 2019, Rochelle finished second in the US Girls’ Junior Championship, and represented the US in World Team as the youngest player. In 2020, Rochelle placed third in the US Girl’s Junior Championship and Fourth place in the 2020 World Youth U14 Girls section (online). She also participated “Go World! Be Chess Smart against COVID-19!” FIDE Candidates Countries Youth Online Chess Tournament as a member of Team USA.
Sophie Morris-Suzuki
Sophie Morris-Suzuki was a relatively late starter in chess, learning the rules of chess at the age of 11. It didn't take long for Sophie to start playing in tournaments; and soon found competitive success. Her first major achievement came when she took second place in the U14 section of the 2016 All-Girls National Championship. The following year, she won the 2017 New York Girls State Championship and the U18 section of the 2017 All-Girls National Championship. Sophie is a returning competitor from the 2018 and 2020 US Girls' Junior Championships. Outside of chess, Sophie is an avid music enthusiast, and she appreciates all music suggestions anyone has to offer!
Ruiyang Yan
Yan hails from Mountain View, CA. She will be a freshman in High School this coming August. She earned her National Master certificate in 2019. That same year, she got 3rd in the World Cadets in Weifang, China in 2019. Outside of chess, she enjoys reading.
Sheena Zeng
Sheena started playing chess at age 7. She is a two-time Kansas Girls State Champion. She earned her National Master title at the 2019 Denker Tournament of High School Champions, where she also won the Ursula Foster award for best result under the age of 16. Other chess achievements include tying for first at the 2017 Pan-American Youth Championship Girls U14 and winning the 2018 KCF All-Girls National Championship U14. She will attend the University of Michigan this fall.
Alice Lee
WCM Alice Lee, a two-time gold medalist at the World Cadet Chess Championship, started playing chess at the age of 6. She improved quickly, becoming a US chess expert at 8 and a National Master at 10. At the national level, Alice was a two-time champion at the National Girls Championship in 2017 (U8 section) and 2019 (U18 section). In 2019, Alice became the gold medalist at the World Cadet Championship in the Girls U10 section. She obtained another gold medal in the 2020 World Cadet Championship (online) in the Girls U12 section. Outside of competitive chess, Alice co-hosts "Alice's Pawn Palace" show with FM Mike Klein at ChessKid.com. Her daily routine includes running one mile, watching nesting barn swallows, and solving a few contest math problems.
Susanna Ulrich
Susanna Ulrich was introduced to chess at a young age by her three siblings, all of whom have played competitively. She was immediately drawn to the complicated logic of the chessboard and played in her first tournament at the age of 5. In 2014, Susanna represented her home state of Wisconsin in the prestigious National Girls’ Tournament of Champions, and she became the #1 ranked female in Wisconsin in 2019. Susanna has also competed internationally, traveling abroad for her first time in the 2020 Roquetas de Mar Open in Spain. In 2021, she was invited to compete in the U.S. Junior Girls’ Invitational. Susanna is excited for the challenge of competing against other girls of her age, and has learned about the tournament from her older sister Rachel, who competed in 2017. Outside chess, Susanna is studying computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and will graduate next year.
Sanjana Vittal
Sanjana began playing chess at the age of 8 and was immediately drawn to the game. At the age of ten, she qualified to represent the United States for the World Youth and has been selected every year since. Sanjana achieved her first title of WCM by winning silver in the 2013 NAYCC. In 2015, she became a WFM by winning gold in the Pan-American Youth Chess Championships in Cali, Colombia. She also won silver in the 2015 NAYCC and the 2017 North American Junior. In the 2019 North American Youth Chess Championships, she scored a perfect 9-0, winning gold for the USA. Sanjana holds the USCF National Master title and has two WIM norms. She is a four-time New Jersey Girls’ Champion and is currently the highest rated woman and girl in New Jersey. Sanjana is also a volunteer teacher/mentor and has participated in charity events to help raise money for COVID-19 relief. Sanjana is an avid reader and has been trained in classical dance for over 10 years. She has graduated high school while simultaneously completing an Associate Degree in Mathematics. She will soon be attending Cornell University and plans on pursuing a degree in Computer Science.