Ashritha Eswaran

Ashritha Eswaran is a two-time competitor in the  U.S. Women’s Championship. Her first appearance saw her capture the prize for the Best Game of the Tournament despite being the youngest among the field. Eswaran is from San Jose, California where she learned to play at the age of 7. By 13 she became a national master under the training of Bulgarian Grandmaster Dejan Bojkov at the NorCal House of Chess, and currently holds the title of Women’s International Master.

In June 2015, Ashritha took first place in the U.S. Girls Junior Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She won with a 6.5/9 and qualified to play in the 2016 U.S. Women’s Championship. The very next day, she flew to Colombia for the 2015 Pan American Youth Chess Championship. In the U18 section she scored 7.5/9, sharing first place, but ended up getting the Bronze through a tie-break. This year in February, Ashritha played and came in an impressive third in the incredibly competitive American Continental Women's Championship in Lima, Peru.

Eswaran is also a part of the “Young Stars - Team USA” program which is sponsored by the Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Other accomplishments throughout her career: All-Girls National Champion U12 (2012) and again in 2013 in U14 section. She played in the World Youth Championships four times from 2012-2015. She is currently a sophomore at Notre Dame High School in San Jose.

Eswaran hopes to make another splash at the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship in April.