Maryland Sweet 16

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By Chris Y Kim

March 21, 2026

Round 2 of the 2026 Maryland Sweet 16 has been completed with a very competitive field. This is the second year the tournament has been held outside of UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County); again this year it is held in conjunction with the MCA Old Line Open tournament in the Hilton Rockville/Washington DC Hotel in Rockville, MD.

Thank you to all the players and parents who came to participate in this year's Maryland Sweet 16. Below are the Brief Standings after Round 2; and the Pairings for Round 3. Round 3 starts at 9:30AM Sunday.

Brief Standings (Rating order)

2.0 - Alexander Zlodorev (2192); CM Steven Liu (2161); Sandeep Thimmasamudram (2065)

1.5 - Svetoslav Fedorov (2119); Roshan Gopi (1801)

1.0 - Eliot Wu (2003)  Caroline Jiang (1826); Maximilian Kleese (1819); Kevin Fang (1816); Vishnu Sharma (1736)

0.5 - Andy Yue (2094); Architsai Ramnath (2037); Arthur Xu (1851); Eric Sun (1829);

0.0 - Anirudh Ghodgaonkar (1986); Caden Liu (1755)

Pairings - Round 3 (Sunday 3/8/2025 9:30am) - White listed first

Board 1: Alexander Zlodorev (2.0) - CM Steven Liu (2.0)

Board 2: Sandeep Thimmasamudram (2.0) - Svetoslav Fedorov (1.5) 

Board 3: Caroline Jiang (1.0) - Roshan Gopi (1.5)

Board 4: Kevin Fang (1.0) - Eliot Wu (1.0)

Board 5:  Maximilian Kleese  Go (1.0) - Vishnu Sharma (1.0)

Board 6: Eric Sun (0.5) - Andy Yue (0.5)

Board 7: Arthur Xu (0.5) - Architsai Ramnath (0.5)

Board 8: Caden Liu (0.0) - Anirudh Ghodgaonkar (0.0)

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By Chris Y Kim

Siddharth Kurup won the 2025 Maryland Sweet 16 held at the Rockville Hilton this evening. He won a Rapid Armageddon playoff match against Svetoslav Fedorov. He is an 8th grader from Robert Frost Middle School in Montgomery County.

Rest of article to follow.

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By Chris Y Kim

Round 2 of the 2024 Maryland Sweet 16 has been completed with a very competitive field. This is the first year the tournament has been held outside of UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County); this year it is held in conjunction with the MCA Old Line Open tournament in the Rockville Hilton Hotel in Rockville, MD. This year's leaders includes two players with Russian backgrounds. We had our first withdrawal due to medical illness after the first round - Eliot Wu had to withdraw due to fever. Krish Ghosh (one of the alternates) will fill in for Rounds 3-4.

Thank you to all the players and parents who came to participate in this year's Maryland Sweet 16. Below are the Brief Standings after Round 2; and the Pairings for Round 3. Round 3 starts at 9:30AM Sunday - watch out for Daylight Saving Time, which will push the clock forward Sunday morning  at 2 AM to 3 AM.

Brief Standings (Rating order)

2.0 - Alexander Zlodorev (2079); Siddharth Kurup (2053); Svetoslav Fedorov (1916)

1.5 - Sandeep Thimmasamudram (1892)

1.0 - Anish Mariappan (2109); Brandon Chen (2080);  Andy Yue (1931); Sherlock Grigsby II (1887); Ari Bershak (1804); Kevin Fang (1800); Jordan Go (1794); Matthew Zhou (1777)

0.5 - Eliot Wu (1919) - Withdraw;  Angelina Verma (1855); Gabriel Joshi (1843);  Caden Liu (1626)

0.0 - Architsai Ramnath (1994); Devesh Cherukuri (1871); Caroline Jiang (1826); Krish Ghosh (1681) - Alternate

Pairings - Round 3 (Sunday 3/8/2025 9:30am) - White listed first

Board 1: Alexander Zlodorev (2.0) - Siddharth Kurup (2.0)

Board 2: Svetoslav Fedorov (2.0) - Sandeep Thimmasamudram (1.5)

Board 3: Anish Mariappan (1.0) - Ari Bershak (1.0)

Board 4: Kevin Fang (1.0) - Brandon Chen (1.0)

Board 5:  Jordan Go (1.0) - Andy Yue (1.0)

Board 6: Sherlock Grigsby II (1.0) - Matthew Zhou (1.0)

Board 7: Architsai Ramnath (0.0) - Devesh Cherukuri (0.0)

Board 8: Caroline Jiang (0.0) - Krish Ghosh (0.0)

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By Chris Y Kim 

Nitesh Cherukuri has won the 2024 Maryland Sweet 16 Championship with a Round 4 victory over Alexander Zlotorev and a perfect 4 win weekend (March 2-3) at the University of Maryland - Baltimore County (UMBC). He is a resident of Howard County and attends McDonogh School as a 7th-grade student. The tournament consisted of 16 strong scholastic players (grades 3-12) rated from 1623 - 2159.

It has been 10 years since the winner of the Sweet 16 had a perfect score! Cherukuri with the victory also wins a 4-year tuition scholarship to UMBC. He had the only 3.0 score heading into the final round and needed at least a draw (to ensure a spot in a rapid playoff), but he ensured the Championship with the fourth round win.

Here are the final standings in tiebreak order (out of 4 games):

Read more: Nitesh Cherukuri is 2024 Maryland Sweet 16 Champion!