CCC 2022 Mid-Year Review
Author: Peter Giannatos
I would like to start by thanking all of our members and supporters for what has been an incredible post pandemic year of chess! Below you will see some of our highlights so far this year and some of our plans going forward. Hopefully this is an informative post on our year thus far and our plans for the future.
Events
Major Weekend Events
2022 US Chess National Online Scholastic Quick Championship
More than 1250 players participated
An official US Chess National Event
2022 Carolinas Classic
385 players from 20+ States
The largest open event in North Carolina history
2022 NC K-12 Championship
450+ players in grades K-12
The first OTB state championship since the pandemic
At Least Twenty-One (ALTO)
107 players from 13 states and Mexico
An innovative concept featuring an adult friendly atmosphere
The CCC's first Unrated Team Challenge
Featured 280+ players from more than 40 local area schools
Norm Round Robin Invitationals
3 norm invitational events so far this year
8 IM norms, 1 WIM norm, and 3 FM Titles conferred from those events
Our spring norm event was the largest norm RR ever held in the US which featured (5) 10-player sections. Players from 14 federations and 18 states participated.
Fun Fact: The CCC began organizing norm round robin events in 2015. Since then, 86 norms and 39 titles have been achieved. In addition, 233 unique players have played in a CCC norm invitational, representing 48 federations and 25 states.
Local Club Events
Tuesday Night Action
1 US Chess rated game every week and free for members
June/July 2022 TNA had a record breaking 111 players.
Friday Action Quads
3 US Chess rated games nearly every Friday
The largest weekly Friday event in the United States
Nearly 60 students play the rated quads every Friday
North American Corporate Chess League (NACCL)
Season 4 was conducted in Q1 of 2022
40+ corporate teams and 400+ players participated in Season 4
Well known companies involved such as: Deloitte, Google, SIG, Qualcomm and many more!
Instruction
School Programs
The CCC taught chess to over 2,000 students weekly in 40+ area schools
500+ students participated in a chess tournament outside of their school.
Nearly 30 coaches work tirelessly to provide our students with quality chess education.
Academy Classes
175+ of students enrolled in CCC academy classes and learn chess weekly at the CCC.
Classes lead by highly skilled and experienced teachers: GM Naroditsky, GM Jayaram, IM Ippolito, NM Myers, NM Biernacki, Alex Velasquez and Geoff Charles.
Summer Camps
More than 600 students have participated in summer camps this year.
Camps held both at the CCC and at school partner locations.
Local camps led by CCC top instructors
Elite Summer Camp - led by GMs Topalov, Aagaard, PH Nielsen, and Naroditsky
50 top players from 20 states participated in the camp.
Instructors also gave evening lectures to CCC club members.
Club Member Highlights
Tianqi "Steve" Wang earned IM title
Advaith Karthik earned the NM title
Maya Myers earned FIDE International Arbiter (IA) title
FM Peter Giannatos earned FIDE International Organizer (IO) and US Chess National Tournament Director (NTD) titles
NM Vishnu Vanapalli, NM Advaith Karthik co-champions at the 2022 Nat'l HS Champs
GM Daniel Naroditsky became the New York Times' official chess columnist
Welcomed IM Dean Ippolito and Seun Bisiriyu to our staff
Many CCC members have eclipsed class rating barriers, too many to name!
Social Outreach
Arbor Glen Outreach Fun Day - Charlotte
Partnered with Charlotte Parks and Rec
A totally free event which featured prizes, music, food, and chess!
Over 100 players and enthusiasts participated in a day of fun.
Freedom School Partners - Charlotte
FSP is Charlotte non-profit that promoted the long-term success of children by preventing summer learning loss.
The CCC teaches chess at over 25 of their summer learning campuses.
Raise Chess Academy - Uganda
Partnered with New in Chess and Chessable to provide learning resources.
Books, sets, teaching materials, and more were provided.
Raise Chess is an outreach program that uses chess to assist refugee children.
The Road Ahead
Major Events on the Calendar
2022 NC Closed - October 14-16
2022 US Masters - November 23-27
2022 NC Open - November 25-27
Club Events
Plans to add more club events to the calendar including another weeknight event
Plans to add more open and scholastic weekend options
Final Thoughts
The CCC could not function without our amazing and well rounded staff. Without all of their efforts, both in front of and behind the scenes, the CCC would not enjoy the growth and success it has today. We have a great team of tightly knit staff members who all wish to build a more professional and welcoming chess ecosystem for all. While they are not always front and center, they are pivotal to our organization.
The CCC always has big plans for the future. Expect more options on both the play and learn side on a local, regional, and national scale. Our mission driven approach is to elevate chess education and organization to a higher standard. While we have certainly done that, the journey continues.
Thank you for all your support!
Peter Giannatos
Founder and Director
