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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


The first Charlotte Chess Center Unrated Team Chess Tournament.
CCC Unrated Team Challenge


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.

Players playing in the 2022 Spring CCC GM/IM Norm Invitational
2022 CCC Spring Norm Invitational

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


Friday Action Quads rated chess tournament Charlotte, NC.
Friday Action Quads

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.


2022 Charlotte Elite Chess Camp featuring Topalov, Aagaard, Peter Heine Nielsen, Daniel Naroditsky.
2022 Charlotte Elite Camp

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

www.charlottechesscenter.org






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