Advanced League Brilliancy Prize Fall 2024

The 2024 Fall season of the Great Lakes Chess Advanced League hosted the best elementary and middle school students from around Northwest Ohio in order to compete on one of four teams in a series of matches which took place every Tuesday from September 17 to October 29.

Out of the 54 games played, one clearly stood out, not for flashy sacrifices, but for consistent high-level play throughout the entire game. Below is the game, won by Ethan Liu with the white pieces, along with my analysis.

Ethan Liu - Winner of the Brilliancy Prize

After winning two pawns in the opening, Ethan Liu consolidated his advantage and entered a winning endgame. He played the endgame extremely precisely making only one mistake in the entire game. At 66 moves, this marathon game was an incredible show of skill and persistence. Congratulations to Ethan Liu for winning this season’s brilliancy prize!

Also, a big congratulations Raaghav Gundabolu and Ashyr Nupp for winning the Highest Performance Rating and Most Improved Award respectively. They both had a phenomenal season!

Raaghav Gundabolu - Highest Performance Rating

Ashyr Nupp - Most Improved