North American Corporate Chess League

Category: Season 4

  • Deloitte Wins Season 4 in Thrilling Finish

    Championship week of the North American Corporate Chess League’s Season 4 featured top level of action, with many ups and down through the final round of play. The season-long competitive “rivalry” between Deloitte and Google led to a thrilling finale.  With just a few games remaining in round 12, the team standings were tied at 35.5 points each.

    Team Standings

    The NACCL Season 4 title would eventually be determined by boards 1 and 3 of the final round, namely FM Benjamin Moon (Deloitte) against NM Kola Adeyemi (Google) and Haotian Zheng (Google) against NM Saumil Padhya (Deloitte).  In the end, Deloitte’s top players emerged victorious, launching Deloitte to its first title. This is Deloitte’s first title, joining Google and Susquehanna International Group as NACCL champions.

    Deloitte’s 37.5 points in the final team standings ties Google’s record in season 3 for the highest team score ever achieved. They were led by very strong performances by:

    FM Benjamin Moon10.5 points
    NM Saumil Padhya9.5 points
    Sohail Shaikh9 points
    Igor Alfimov and Teddy Shih8.5 points

    Google finished with 35.5 points with strong performances by:

    IM Ritvars Reimanis9.5 points
    Lambert Liu9 points
    Arpit Hamirwasia, Haotian Zheng,Bret Bryan,
    NM Kola Adeyemi, Benjamin Stern, Larkin Wisdom
    8.5 points

    Susquehanna International Group (SIG) was briefly in title contention but settled for a very solid third place. The team was led by:

    Nan Zhao9.5 points
    Cory Riegelhaupt9 points
    Bary Lisak8 points
    Ella Papenek and Brian Luo7.5 points

    Jump Trading finished in clear 4th place with 29.5 points

    A big tie for 5th-7th place at 29 points were: Ernst & Young, Peak6 Investments, and DRW respectively. In a logjam for 7th-13th with 28.5 points were: Qualcomm Inc., Palantir, Asana, Capital One, Jane Street, and Milliman respectively.

    Plaques are awarded to the top 10 teams, in addition to the top IT Company (Google), top Financial Services Company (SIG), 1st and 2nd Small Company (Flume Water and Planetary Systems), Top Law Company (Sullivan & Cromwell)

    See final team standings here.

    Individual Standings

    Critical to Deloitte’s victory was the dominant performance by their top player, FM Ben Moon, who scored 10.5 points out of 12, losing a close game to Lambert Liu and splitting the point with IM Ritvars Reimanis, but defeating 10 other strong opponents.

    Tying for second place were Deloitte’s NM Saumil Padhya, SIG’s Nan Zhao, and Google’s IM Ritvars Reimanis.

    NameTeamPrize
    FM Benjamin MoonDeloitte1st Overall
    NM Saumil PadhyaDeloitte2nd Overall
    Nan ZhaoSIG3rd Overall
    IM Ritvars ReimanisGoogle4th Overall
    Lambert LiuGoogle5th Overall
    Larkin WisdomGoogleTop U1700
    Eddie SzmigielskiDeloitteTop U1100
    Satish ShivareddyQualcommTop Unrated

    Overall, there were awards for the top 15 players overall, plus the top 10 rated under 1700, top 10 under 1100, and top 10 unrated.  Each of these prize winners will earn a plaque.

    See final individual standings here

    Kyron’s Corner

    IM Kyron Griffith (Lyft) annotates 4 games each week of the NACCL:

    Use dropdown menu above to select between the 4 games.

    Commentary and Lectures

    Replay FM Peter Giannatos’ final week commentary here. It was action packed with a lot of ups and downs throughout!

    Season 5

    Season 5 will likely begin at the tail end of Q2 or the beginning of Q3. Stay tuned for more information and use the links below to keep up with NACCL happenings.

    Follow the League

    Keep up with updates via our website, this blog, our LinkedIn group, and Facebook page.

    Note: The NACCL does not spam its members via Linkedin messaging nor do we share personal contact information with any external companies. Should players, companies, or other entities wish to read out to us, please contact us at [email protected]

  • Week 6 – Deloitte with the Narrowest of Leads

    Team Standings

    After 11 rounds in the NACCL’s Season 4, Deloitte tops the leaderboard with 34 points.  However, with only one game remaining on April 14 and Google (33.5 points) and the Susquehanna International Group (32 points) trailing very closely, these will be the top teams to watch in the championship round.

    Currently in fourth place is Peak6 Investments. Closely behind and tied for 5th are Qualcomm, Palantir, and DRW each with 27 points.  There are awards for the top 10 overall teams, as well as top 2 small companies, top financial service company, top IT company, and top law company.

    Individual Standings

    At the top of the individual standings are Nan Zhao (2316) of SIG and FM Benjamin Moon (2355) of Deloitte with 9.5 points. Many strong experts and masters round out the top 8 scorers with 8.5 points.

    The NACCL awards many team and individual prizes, and with just half a point separating the leading pack in both the team and individual standings, the final week cannot be missed!

    Kyron’s Corner

    IM Kyron Griffith (Lyft) annotates 4 games each week of the NACCL:

    Use dropdown menu above to select between the 4 games.

    Play an interesting game in the NACCL? Share it with Kyron via a lichess message @ kyrongriffith

    Commentary and Lectures

    Replay FM Peter Giannatos’ week 6 Twitch commentary here.  GM Daniel Naroditsky gave his final lecture to league members last Monday. Lectures available for replay, see weekly emails.

    Follow the League

    Keep up with updates via this blog, our LinkedIn group, and Facebook page.

    Note: The NACCL does not spam its members via Linkedin messaging nor do we share personal contact information with any external companies. Should players, companies, or other entities wish to read out to us, please contact us at [email protected]

  • Week 5 – A Three Horse Race

    Team Standings

    After nine rounds of the North American Corporate Chess League’s fourth season, longtime frontrunner Google tops the leaderboard with 28.5 points.  With three rounds remaining, Deloitte and the Susquehanna International Group, only 1 point behind at 27.5 team points, will fight for the season 4 championship.

    Jane Street (24.5), Qualcomm (24), Ernst & Young (23), Capital One (23), DRW (23), IBM (22), and Peak6 Investments (22) round out the top 10 in the team standings.  The top four scores from each company form a team’s score, meaning that a few close games can affect the entire leaderboard.

    Individual Standings

    At the sole lead of the individual standings is FM Benjamin Moon (2355) of Deloitte with 8 points out of 9.  Three strong masters are just behind him at 7.5 points – Nan Zhao (2316) of SIG, Kola Adeyemi (2236) of Google, and Christopher Yang (2290) of Jane Street.

    With many team and individual prizes and such tight competition, there is everything to play for in the final 2 weeks!

    Kyron’s Corner

    IM Kyron Griffith (Lyft) annotates 4 games each week of the NACCL:

    Use dropdown menu above to select between the 4 games.

    Play an interesting game in the NACCL? Share it with Kyron via a lichess message @ kyrongriffith

    Live Commentary & Lectures

    Replay FM Peter Giannatos’ week 5 Twitch commentary here.  Every Monday, we have our free improvement seminar featuring GM Daniel Naroditsky.

    Follow the League

    Keep up with updates via this blog, our LinkedIn group, and Facebook page.

    Note: The NACCL does not spam its members via Linkedin messaging nor do we share personal contact information with any external companies. Should players, companies, or other entities wish to read out to us, please contact us at [email protected]

  • Week 4 – Race to the Top

    Team Standings

    After four weeks in the North American Corporate Chess League, the team and individual standings are packed at the top. While Deloitte leads the team standings with 23.5 points, Google is just behind at 22.5 points. Susquehanna International Group and DRW (each 20.5 points) are within striking distance, and there is a pack of teams in the 18-19 point range. See team standings here.

    Individual Standings

    In the individual standings, FM Igor Tsyganov (DRW) and Nan Zhao (SIG) lead with 6.5 points out of 7.  With both players rated around 2200 FIDE, they will likely play each other in week 5.  A strong group of players are on their heels at 6 points.  Most of them will face each other in future weeks, we can look forward to a photo finish.

    Kyron’s Corner

    IM Kyron Griffith (Lyft) annotates 4 games each week of the NACCL.

    Use dropdown menu above to select between the 4 games.

    Play an interesting game in the NACCL? Share it with Kyron via a lichess message @ kyrongriffith

    Round 8 Technical Issue

    Unfortunately, round 8 was postponed due to technical issues which were unable to be resolved quickly. The issue has since been debugged and we do expect a smooth rest of the season.

    As a result, we will be adding a 7th week on Thursday, April 14, which will have just one round.  We apologize for the inconvenience, but all 12 rounds are still being played.  Please see our updated schedule here.

    Follow the League

    Keep up with updates via this blog, our LinkedIn group, and Facebook page.

    Note: The NACCL does not spam its members via Linkedin messaging nor do we share personal contact information with any external companies. Should players, companies, or other entities wish to read out to us, please contact us at [email protected]

  • Week 3 – Neck and Neck

    Team Standings

    In week 3 of the North American Corporate Chess League’s season 3, Deloitte maintained their lead over season 2 champions Google at the top of the team standings.

    At the halfway mark, besides Deloitte (20.5 points) and Google (20 points), Qualcomm (18), Susquehanna International Group (17.5), DRW (17), Jane Street (17), and Peak6 Investments (17) round out the top 7 teams.  With every game affecting the individual and team standings and half the season’s games in the books, there is still a lot to play for!  The full team standings can be found here.

    Individual Standings

    In the individual standings, FM Igor Tsyganov (DRW) and NM Kevin Bu (Peak6 Investments) have a perfect 6/6 score.  Many players have excellent scores of 5/6 and 5.5/6!

    Kyron’s Corner

    IM Kyron Griffith (Lyft) annotates 4 games each week of the NACCL.

    Annotated games Week 3:

    Use dropdown menu above to select between the 4 games.

    Play an interesting game in the NACCL? Share it with Kyron via a lichess message @ kyrongriffith

    Live Commentary & Lectures

    Replay FM Peter Giannatos’ week 3 Twitch commentary here.  Every Monday, we have our free improvement seminar featuring GM Daniel Naroditsky.

    Follow the League

    Keep up with updates via this blog, our LinkedIn group, and Facebook page.

    Note: The NACCL does not spam its members via Linkedin messaging nor do we share personal contact information with any external companies. Should players, companies, or other entities wish to read out to us, please contact us at [email protected]

  • Week 2 – Deloitte Still Perfect!

    In the second week of the North American Corporate Chess League, Deloitte overtook the sole lead with 16 points out of 16.  Now in NACCL’s fourth season, this is the first time that a team has emerged unscathed after two weeks (four rounds).

    “Checking in” for a week means that you be paired for 2 rapid games played at a time control of 15 minutes + 5 second increment.  Players skipping rounds will receive up to four half point “byes” for any games they miss throughout the season.

    What sets the NACCL apart from other leagues is that all players must work for their company, so there are no professional chess players.  However, the competition is always quite strong, with many titled players (International Masters, FIDE Masters, and National Masters) at the top of the list.

    Individual Standings

    11 players remain with perfect 4/4 scores in the individual standings, including IM Kyron Griffith (Lyft), who will be analyzing four games each week from the league.  Here are his selections and notes from this week:

    Did you play an interesting game in the NACCL? Share it with Kyron via a lichess message @ kyrongriffith

    Team Standings

    After four rounds, only Deloitte remains at a perfect team score of 16 points.  The top 4 players per team form the team score, and Deloitte’s FM Benjamin Moon, NM Saumil Padhya, NM Lihong Tang, and Sohail Shaikh each started off 4-0.

    Traditional powerhouse Google is in second place with 14.5 points, followed by Susquehanna International Group (13), Qualcomm (12.5), Capital One (12.5), and a few teams at 12 points.  The full team standings can be found here.

    Live Commentary

    NACCL Director FM Peter Giannatos had the call on week 2 commentary, which can be replayed here.  Coming up on Monday is our improvement seminar with GM Daniel Naroditsky which is free for all NACCL participants and is well-received by players of all levels.

    Follow the League

    Keep up with updates via this blog, our LinkedIn group, and Facebook page.

    Note: The NACCL does not spam its members via Linkedin messaging nor do we share personal contact information with any external companies. Should players, companies, or other entities wish to read out to us, please contact us at [email protected]

  • Season 4 Opening Week

    Season 4 of the North American Corporate Chess League is here!  With 39 teams and 475 players, this is one of the largest seasons to date.  The NACCL is always held on the popular free and open-source chess site, lichess.org, and is the largest seasonal corporate chess league in the world.  Online corporate chess is here to stay!

    There are many returning teams including traditional powerhouses Google (Season 2 and 3 Champions) and inaugural winners, Susquehanna International Group.  There are also many new teams and players, including many titled players.

    As always, the NACCL features an inclusive, easy-to-understand, and flexible format.  An overwhelming number of the players in the league are casual players – there are no Grandmasters this season.  The top four scores from each company comprise a team’s score, so recreational players can compete without the fear that they are “bringing down” their colleagues.  There are also individual standings and prizes, plus weekly chess improvement seminars for all participants.

    With a simple online check-in process and no downloads, roster submissions, memberships, or powerhouse chess teams from within the industry, the NACCL is very accessible and straightforward, meanwhile emphasizing engagement, team building, and the popularization of chess.

    Individual Standings

    352 of the 475 players checked in for week 1, which consisted of two games of 15+5 (15 minutes plus 5 second increment per move).  Top players this season are IM Kyron Griffith (Lyft), IM Ritvars Reimanis (Google), FM Benjamin Moon (Deloitte), NM Saumil Padhya (Deloitte), and FM Varun Krishnan (Lyft), each rated over 2300.

    John Gruska (1812) of Google showed some nice tactics in his round 1 game against Alexander Sorokin (1455) of Airtable:

    As is the nature of rapid games, there were a few upsets up and down the crosstable.  Many expert (2000+) rated and other strong players did not get through 2 rounds unscathed. 

    Team Standings

    In the team standings, only 3 teams scored the maximum 8 points – Google, Qualcomm, and Deloitte. 

    Susquehanna International Group and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have 7.5 team points, and Citadel Securities and Lyft round out the top 7 with 7 points.  The top four player scores within each company contribute to the team standings.  With only 3 teams on a perfect score after just 1 week, this looks to be the most competitive season yet.

    Prizes

    In addition to team prizes, the league offers individual prizes for the top performers.  67 players move to 2-0 on the individual standings, but with an accelerated pairing system and closer matchups coming up in week 2, the number of perfect scores will be whittled down quickly.  Players who skip an early week earn half point “byes” so as to help their team a bit even if they must miss a week or two.  Individual standings can be found here.

    Live Commentary

    FM Gauri Shankar commentated live on week 1’s games, which you can replay here. 

    Follow the League

    Keep up with updates via this blog, our LinkedIn group, and Facebook page.

    Note: The NACCL does not spam its members via Linkedin messaging nor do we share personal contact information with any external companies. Should players, companies, or other entities wish to read out to us, please contact us at [email protected]