The United States Amateur Team East tournament (USATE) is a historic team event that has been ongoing for almost 50 years, bringing together players of all levels, from youthful beginners to experienced masters, in a wondrous symphony of epic chess. Every Presidents Day more than 1000 chess players gather in Parsippany, New Jersey to test their skills, endurance and talent as they compete against opponents from across the country. The tournament consists of six rounds over three days with points awarded for the result each game, teams of four to five are continuously paired against other teams with similar performances and the squads and individuals with the best scores are awarded prizes by a various number of sections.
The International Chess Academy is proud to boast a longstanding tradition of participation and success at USATE, and we are even prouder to see this legacy continued into 2025 with 13 remarkable teams and over 50 players of various ages and ratings, many of which achieved inspiring victories and top places on the leaderboard. We are so grateful to all our players that chose to represent the ICA this February, demonstrating the talent, teamwork, and resilience that comprise the core of ICA’s values.
Thank you so much to all of our coaches and students that put in great effort to play competitive chess against strong opponents while having fun with their teammates. A special thanks is due to each and every parent that chose to spend their Presidents\' Day weekend with the ICA community, and watched with pride and joy as their children demonstrated their impressive chess skills and sportsmanship throughout their games.
A huge shoutout is deserved to our awesome 2025 USATE teams, all of which are listed below, along with their players and accomplishments:
1. ICA 1 - Pawnkebobers (GM Alex Stripunsky, Robert Shlyakhtenko, Oleg Shevelenko, Jane Stripunsky)
-Won an incredible 6th place overall out of 358 teams 2. ICA 2 - Share Toys Not Titles (William Graif, Maxim Farberov, Ethan Modi, Alan Stolyarov)
-Achieved 17th place out of 358 teams 3. ICA 3 - Give Piece A Second Chance (Gary A Leschinsky, Maxwell Schwartz, Igor Yeliseyev, Roman P Malyshev, Michael Gerstein)
-Secured 32nd place out of 358 teams 4. ICA 4 - 3rd Eye Of the Storm (Dmitriy Volkov, David Rubenfeld, Rouven Essig, Gilad Drillich)
-Earned 61st place out of 358 teams 5. ICA 5 - BoardClock Empire (GM Elshan Moradiabadi, Mark Kogan, Aiden Kennedy, David Milstein)
-Achieved 32nd place out of 358 teams 6. ICA 6 - Good Knight, don’t let the Bishops Bite! (Goktug Bas, Jayden Chan, Bryan Andrei, Yujeong Yeo) 7. ICA 7 - Keep It In Check (Ido Alkin, Thomas Holder, Leon Shevelenko, Jack Holder)
-Earned 134th place out of 358 teams 8. ICA 8 - EASE Chess (Sena Browning, Geoffrey Chen, Eva Vinokur, Albert Abzalimov, Elizabeth Soldatenkov)
-Secured 221st place out of 358 teams 9. ICA 9 - Time Trouble (Carlos Rodas, Moshe Gorbunov, Adam Darack, Gary Varjian) 10. ICA 10 - King Crushers (Kian Zarineh, Gillian Gao, Rayan Zarineh, Kate Stripunsky)
-Finished 201st place out of 358 teams 11. ICA 11 - Dark Horses (Dennis Rozhkov, Guy Naveh, Grisha Rozhkov, Gilad Shoham)
-Earned 283rd place out of 358 12. ICA 12 - Poisoned Pawns (Vitaly Tseitlyn, Justin Rosales, Emma Shevelenko, Ahrin Vakharia, Zakareeya Bashjawish)
-Attained 190th place out of 358 teams
13. ICA 13 - ICA 13 (Trary Chen, Anderson Schafer, Liam Shah, Sanat Kashyap, Ian Browning)
-Achieved 277th place out of 358 teams
We are fortunate to have an meaningful account generously provided by the captain of team BoardClock Empire, David Milstein, detailing his personal experience at this years United States Amateur Team East tournament:
[Dear ICA Reader]
I was honored to captain the team BoardClock Empire. The team included GM Elshan Moradiabadi, and my friends Mark and Aiden. My strong tournament performance was the result of the support of my teammates, especially Coach Elshan, and of course my parents. I deeply enjoyed the tournament and was disappointed when it ended.
I entered the tournament excited to play on a team with a GM, but simultaneously stressed. My chess style is extremely aggressive, but somewhat inconsistent. I understandably had a healthy fear of blundering while my GM coach was three boards down. I believe it was this stress that led to my improved play. In my first two games, I scored two upsets, a win and a draw against higher rated players, likely due to a fear of messing up. In future tournaments, I plan to do my best to recreate this fear in hopes that I play better.
Playing on board four presented me with many challenges, my first was that when playing up, I would be playing the least up on my team, creating the expectation that I would win. The must win situation made me play somewhat recklessly against a player rated above 2000 in round two. While I barely drew, my reckless play almost spelled defeat. Furthermore, I frequently played down, including playing an unrated opponent. While my team did not necessarily need the wins, my rating did, as a draw would be unfortunate for it. These pressures ultimately made me more alert, contributing to a strong performance.
One drawback of playing on a team was the urge to watch my teammates play and lose focus on my own game. As someone who had never seen a GM take apart a lower rated player, I especially enjoyed watching Coach Elshan\'s masterpieces, to the possible detriment of my own play. Either way, it was kind of worth it.
As captain, my team proved easy to lead. Every player was on time to every game, and played with the utmost tournament etiquette. We met before most games, and got along well. I would like to thank my teammates for being great.
Sincerely, The memories made during this event will last a lifetime, and our remarkable players will carry forward the relationships they developed with their teammates as they continue to grow along their chess journeys. They are now part of a proud ICA tradition at the USATE stretching back decades, and their superb performances this weekend are a continuation of that legacy. We saw many amazing moments across all of our boards, and it’s clear that these players are forging their own paths to greatness!
A huge shout out is more than deserved to all of our dedicated coaches who made ICA’s outstanding performance at this event possible. This includes GM Alex, GM Elshan, Coach Igor, Coach Alan, Coach Vitaly, Coach Moshe, Coach Justin, Coach Adam, Coach Gary, Coach Ethan, Coach Max, Coach Sean, JR coach Jane, and JR coach Albert. Your support and leadership to our students and community are invaluable.
A heartfelt thank you once again to all the parents who have shown incredible dedication to providing meaningful opportunities for your children to learn and grow. Your presence and participation make a profound difference, not only in your child\'s journey, but in fostering a supportive environment for all our students. We are grateful for your involvement, and look forward to continuing to see so many awesome parents with us at future events.
We truly appreciate the entire ICA community for coming together to make such an unforgettable weekend, and we look forward to many more memorable experiences in the future!
-Completed the tournament with a remarkable total of 5/6 points
-IM Robert Shlyakhtenko contributed significantly with 5.5/6 on board 2
-Completed the tournament with a remarkable total of 5/6 points
-All members played crucial roles with each player finishing with at least 4/6
-Ended the competition with a strong 4.5/6 points
-Competed alongside the Pawnkebobers on the first and second boards in the fifth round
-Finished the tournament with 4/6 points
-Team captain Gilad Drillich achieved a total of 5/6 points
-Ended the competition with a strong 4.5/6 points
-GM Elshan Moradiabadi and team Captain David Milstein respectively achieved a perfect 6/6 points (Elshan) and an impressive 5.5/6 points (David)
-Attained 139th place out of 358 teams
-Completed the Event with 3/6 points
-Captain Goktug Bas and 6th grader Yujeong Yeo both won 4.5/6 points, with the former not losing a single game on board 1
-Finished the tournament with 3/6 points
-All team members, including an epic Holder family duo, played crucial roles with each player finishing with at least 3.5/6
-Ended the competition with 2.5/6 points
-Geoffrey Chen and Elizabeth Soldatenkov exhibited inspiring teamwork, stepping in to substitute for the other when needed
-Achieved 208th place out of 358 teams
-Completed the tournament with 3/6 points with a bye in the first round
-ICA coach Adam Darrack led the team to success from board 3 with 4/6 points
-Concluded the event with 3/6 points
-Every player contributed significantly to the team\'s success, as all finished with a score of at least 3/6
-Finished the competition with 2/6 points
-Featured the Rozhkov family father and son duo playing on boards 1 and 3
-Ended the tournament with 3/6 points
-Zakareeya Bashjawish won an Upset award for defeating an opponent more than 800 points higher rated than himself in a stunning victory
-Complete the competition with 2/6 points
-Despite being put together at the last minute, ICA 13 secured the TU1000 prize with an impressive display of teamwork and chess skills that far surpassed their youth and experience
David Wolf Milstein
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