Alice Dong
Sarah Yan is a senior in high school. She started playing chess when she was in first grade, but didn't like it at first. After she participated in the first ever All Girls Chess Camp back in 2014, it inspired her to continue her chess journey. Ever since then, she has been playing chess competitively, winning the champion of the 2017 NJ Open U1600 section and was the mixed double champion of the 2016 Manhattan Open. Besides chess, Sarah also swims competitively. She loves racing with her teammates and qualified for meets including Eastern Zones Speedo Sectionals.
Florina started chess when her father taught her the game when she was 6. After her first competitive tournament in 2016, her interest in it flared and never died down. From that time, she has played in tournaments both nationally and internationally. Florina hopes to allow as many people across the world to enjoy chess as possible. Apart from chess, she does tennis and math at a competitive level.
Florina’s chess achievements include:
Florina’s chess achievements include:
- North New Jersey Girls Champion, 2022
- 8th place North American Championship U14 Girls, 2022
- New York Junior Championship U16 5th place, 2021
Claire Cheng is an 8th grader at Heritage Middle School in Livingston, New Jersey. She started playing chess when she was six years old. Claire was the 2019 5th-grade New Jersey State Champion, and she also qualified for the 2019 World Cadet and the 2021 Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls (as an alternate). Moreover, Claire participated in chess team competitions and their team received many awards such as the 2022 K-8 National Championship 2nd Place, Top Middle School in the 2022 US Amateur East Team Championships, and Top 3 in the NJ State Championships in 2016, 2018, and 2019. Aside from chess, she enjoys writing stories and poems, swimming, photography, and playing the clarinet.
Jonina is currently attending Princeton Charter School in the Class of 2025. She is a 6th grader in 2022. Jonina started playing chess at the age of 5 and started her first tournaments at the age of 7. Her current rating is 1298.
Angelica Chin has been playing chess since she was 9 years old. She is the current and 2-time NJ Girls Champion 2018 & 2019. She currently holds the FIDE title of Woman Candidate Master. Her peak ratings are over 2100 USCF and over 2000 FIDE. She has competed in national and international championships all over the US and in Uruguay and Canada, including the World Youth Chess Championships 2017 Girls U16 section while a member of the US Team. She also qualified to join the US Team at the 2016-19 World Youth Championships. As a freshman in high school, Angelica founded and became president of North Hunterdon High School's chess club. With the chess team, she organized several events, including simultaneous exhibitions, Game Nights, and fundraisers to support the club's chess players in state and national competitions. Angelica has been the captain of each of the high school chess teams, which compete in several competitions a year. They have won the NJ High School Team JV Championship 2017 and the NJ 9th Grade Team Championship 2018.
Outside of competitions, Angelica spends a lot of time teaching chess. She has organized two free chess programs for children: a month-long summer camp at the North Branch Hunterdon County Library and a program during the school year at Tewksbury Library.
Music is also a big part of Angelica's life. She plays oboe in the Hunterdon Symphony and piano at the Hunterdon Care Center. She plays varsity tennis on the school tennis team. She is also an AIME qualifier and was on the 2019 AMC 12 Honor Roll.
Outside of competitions, Angelica spends a lot of time teaching chess. She has organized two free chess programs for children: a month-long summer camp at the North Branch Hunterdon County Library and a program during the school year at Tewksbury Library.
Music is also a big part of Angelica's life. She plays oboe in the Hunterdon Symphony and piano at the Hunterdon Care Center. She plays varsity tennis on the school tennis team. She is also an AIME qualifier and was on the 2019 AMC 12 Honor Roll.
Evelyn Zhu is a high schooler residing in New York. She started chess in Kindergarten and has been playing competitively ever since. She has represented the U.S. in numerous World Youth Chess Championships and has placed within the top 10 for her respective age and gender internationally. She won the 7th grade National Champion in the 2016 National K-12 Grade Championship. At the age of 12, she won the gold medal at the U18 Girls North American Youth Chess Championship and was granted the Women International Master (WIM) title. She was also awarded the silver medal at the 2019 U20 Girls North American Junior Championship. When she was 15 years old, she crossed the 2200 rating mark and became a National Master (NM). She also volunteers at local tournaments and classes. Outside of chess, she enjoys reading, programming, and playing basketball and softball.
Hi! I’m Lilian Wang. I am currently 12 years old and love to play chess. In kindergarten, one of my friends taught me how to play chess. Ever since, I have loved the sport and started to compete. At first, I thought of it as a fun game, but when I got into 1st or 2nd grade, I started to go to tournaments and play for real. I hope that all of you will also compete in tournaments and continue to love and play chess for a long, long time.
Alena Powell