THE PAWN'S CRUSADE 2026

 With many wanting to compete in their first tournament and many also getting ready for the state championship (Harrisburg, March 7 and or 8), 121 players met for The Pawn's Crusade at the Chester County Hotel and Conference Center, which will host the Exton Open, May 16 and or 17.)

      In the K-3 Under 200, almost all the players were playing in their first tournament. Vincent Zhou Gu won first place on tiebreaks over Henry Erpel, both scoring 4-0. (Please note that if you are looking at the US Chess Website at - The Pawn's Crusade 2026 | US Chess Ratings, the players are NOT listed in tiebreak order.)  In third through ninth place, all 3-1 are Bennett Asher Lee, Eli Guliyev, Theodore Park, Nathan Schriver, Conor Wright, Colin Crowley, and Alexander Chong, respectively. The top two teams were Merion and then Cynwyd.

        In the K-5 Under 400, three players tied for first with a perfect score: Matthew Shulau, Jay Reddy, and Cyrus Jayroe. Players 4 through 13, respectively, were Jake Weinstein, Kiran Aleti, Rohan Reddy, Jack Bond, Colin P. Bowling, Thomas Brown, Vihaan Panjwani, Ari Zandberg, Aren Baluyan, and Leo Reo Roure, all with 3 points. The top two teams were Pocopson and Montessori.  

        In the K-12 Under 700, Alex Fall was the only player with a perfect 4-0 score. Three players were nicked with just a draw: Ethan Zhang, Jai Advik Perumalla, and Zane Deprospo, respectively. Tying for fifth to tenth were Gavin Bowling, Hyindhav Murugesh, Nolan Taglialatela, Parth Kumar Singhal, Anthony Smith, and Charlie Bontempo, respectively, with 3 points. The top teams were Merion, first, and Radnor was second.

        In the Championship section, Riaan Lalbahadur edged Nickolas Warunkar on tiebreaks after they drew each other in round 2, and won all their other games. Lily Neilson and Daniel Li tied for 3rd - 4th, a half point back. Another half point back from them at 2.5 - 1.5 were James Scott and Ashley Zhao. The top team was McCall.

       The event was directed by tournament directors Samika Nettem, Charan Perumalla, Vahini Sadhu Venkata, and Joshua Anderson. Chris Romeril and Daniel Aleksa aided them.