January 2023 - ICA Student Accomplishments

Although 2023 has barely even begun, our students have accomplished so much that is worth us celebrating. From tournament victories to creating chess clubs, International Chess Academy students have not only made their mark, but have set the bar extremely high for the rest of this year!

This past weekend, as the ICA hosted the Glen Rock Quads (which itself had lots of unique storylines, click HERE to view the report) and ICA Open, three of WGM Irina Levitina’s students competed at the Hunter Chess Tournament in NYC. It must be noted that, when the ICA was in its infancy, the Hunter Chess Tournament was one of the main tournaments for our students: it is evident that this tournament has more history than the combined age of our three student-participants: Michael Lokhov, Maxim Lokhov, and Elizabeth Seleznev. However, our students were unfazed, as all produced remarkable results: Elizabeth won three games out of four, Maxim won three and drew one to finish in fifth place, and Michael won all four to finish in first place!

A few days prior, Liam Shah competed at a school tournament. Out of 30 players, including several high school kids, Liam successfully claimed the championship! And to cap it all off, he then hurried home to virtually attend Coach Danny’s class!

The final story of the week, however, is by far my favorite. Despite the fact that Kevin Korogodon is still relatively new to classes and tournaments, he still has just as much of a love for chess as anyone else. However, there was a problem: while many schools have chess clubs, and some even have well-established chess programs and competitive teams, Kevin’s school had nothing! As a result, last November, he created a PowerPoint presentation for his principal to propose a chess club. After it got approved, TWELVE students joined for its debut earlier this month!

Congratulations to all of our students for all the amazing accomplishments: as long as you stay motivated, the ICA will continue to be a supporting platform for all! I hope to write many more articles like this in the near future!