Shanghai Chess Academy

🌟 [Late Post] Another International Tournament Journey with SCA Students! 🇯🇵♟️ 🌟

Apologies for the delay—we’ve had a hectic few weeks with training, tournaments, and preparations for the upcoming Hong Kong and Japan events… but we couldn’t skip sharing this amazing experience from our recent trip to Sapporo, Japan!

In July, five of our students—Xiaohan, Soi, Lincoln, Adam, and Feifei—joined Coach Robert for a FIDE-rated tournament in the beautiful city of Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was a tough 4-day event with 7 classical rounds and a strong field of 111 players, including 77 FIDE-rated participants. 🧠💪

Our team showed great fighting spirit, with two students earning their first FIDE ratings—a huge milestone! 👏 Special shoutout to Feifei, who just two months ago played his first tournament and lost all his games. This time, he bounced back with 2.5 points and wins against two rated players—what a turnaround! 🙌

Throughout the event, Coach Robert supported students with pre-game prep, post-game analysis (without engines!), and helped everyone stay focused—even after tough losses. The mindset growth was just as important as the chess results.

📍 Check out the full tournament results here:
👉 https://s2.chess-results.com/tnrWZ.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7&fed=CHN&flag=30&SNode=S0&tno=1176208

We’re incredibly proud of the effort, resilience, and learning each student displayed over the board. These trips are not only about results—but about becoming stronger thinkers and competitors, both in chess and life.

Next up: back to Japan in September for another 9-round classical event. Stay tuned and join us on our journey! 🌍♟️✈️

🏆 SCA Students at the Asian Amateur Chess Championship – Hong Kong 2025

From 1–9 August, our SCA Chess Academy team took on one of Asia’s biggest amateur events — the Asian Amateur Chess Championship in Hong Kong, with nearly 400 players across Blitz, Rapid, and Classical tournaments.

Five students represented SCA with determination and skill:
♟ Humphrey (U2000) – Brave choice to compete above his rating, gained valuable points.
♟ Adrian (U1700) – Earned his first-ever FIDE rating in both Blitz and Classical.
♟ Feifei & Xiaohan (U1700) – First tournaments as rated players, solid performances, big time-management improvement.
♟ Gareth (U1700) – First classical tournament, 3 wins, just 0.5 points shy of a FIDE rating.

Despite Black Rain Signal weather disruptions, the team showed adaptability, fought through 27 games in 9 days, and gained invaluable experience. Our double analysis method — first on the board, then with the engine — proved once again to be a powerful learning tool.

💪 Big thanks to all parents for their trust and support, and to Teacher Curry for supervising students throughout the trip.

📅 Next stop: Japan Open, Tokyo – September 2025. Let’s keep the momentum going!