This year, for the first time ever, the annual Pan-American Youth Chess Championship was held in the United States. This was also my first time playing in the popular youth event. I missed the opportunity to travel to a new country, but at least flying to Chicago was much easier logistically.…
After a pause in Puddletown tournaments due to our busy summer schedules, we were finally back for another in-person event today. 65 players joined us at Village Church to battle it out in their respective sections. We had many new players this time: shoutout to Stellan B., Elliot S., Bryan W.,…
How odd, I thought, scrolling past this year's US Girls Junior Championship player list. Many of the familiar names I had seen on television over and over again in the past were absent this year. Instead, I saw more young friends, attending this prestigious event for the first time. Last year,…
My first impressions of chess tournaments were their size. Rows upon rows of long tables, filled with checkered boards and tall (or so they seemed to me at the time) people on either side of them; gigantic rooms and hallways dedicated entirely to chess. Gradually, though, as I played in more…
Records were broken again at this month's Puddletown quads. 36 players showed up to test their skills, and registration had to be closed two weeks early because maximum capacity had been reached (so make sure to sign up quickly for the April quads!). We had 6 girls attend our tournament this…
Over President's Day weekend, I played at the annual Oregon Closed chess championship. "Closed" refers to the fact that it is an invitational tournament, with only players winning certain tournaments or with a high enough rating qualifying. Besides possibly the Oregon Open, the Oregon Closed is the most prestigious chess tournament…
This Saturday, the Puddletown team came together at Hope Chinese Charter School to help with the annual MLK day chess tournament. It was nostalgic to see so many young chess enthusiasts come together in the environment that I myself once spent so much time in. The cafeteria-table-turned-tournament-tables, the classrooms used as…
I'm excited to announce the start of my new Youtube channel, ZozoChess! (Note: I didn't choose the name). For now, I'll be posting a video series where I solve an artistic chess puzzle every day. I hope to expand my horizons later, and who knows? Maybe one day I'll be inside…
Mark your calendars! On Monday, January 2, 2023, Puddletown Chess will be hosting a seminar with IM Carissa Yip. Starting at 7pm PST, our ~90 minute Zoom webinar will aim to answer any questions you may have for a talented International Master. We will also answer questions about our training program.…
The November Quad was another successful event for Puddletown Chess. Fun fact: this was our biggest quad ever so far, with 26 total players in 5 quad sections and 1 small swiss! Shoutout to our youngest competitor Cormac Tseng, who is only 4 years old! Congratulations to our following winners: Quad…
"What does community mean to you? What makes a community?" This year, I have started my freshman year at Westview High School, where the first few days have been focused on community-building rather than academics. And while I have grown tired of these particular questions, the relentless repetition of them has forced…
"Are you sure that you're supposed to sit there?" Well, of course. I thought. "I'm not sure. Let me check." I said. I walked over to the pairing board, and sure enough, I had sat... in the wrong place? It was the sixth round of the North American Youth Chess Championship, a…
Three classrooms of students. Two gatherings of friends. One. Hundred. People. That's the number of people I was challenged to teach chess to within a year. I was at the closing ceremony of the Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions. The Haring runs concurrently with the Irwin (Senior), the Denker…
Zoey Tang's US Girls Junior Championship Experience "Focus on the step ahead of you, not the whole staircase" ~Unknown This was the quote running through my head when I scanned the email for the umpteenth time, not believing the words. Every small step I had taken, every hour I had invested…
Welcome, fellow PuddleTown readers! This is Zoey. I am the president and one of the head coaches of Puddletown Chess. I am so glad to be a part of this organization and to be able to spread the passion of chess throughout our beloved community. I hope that more people will…