This article was originally published on stlpublicradio.org on May 28.
The words “watch your back” have never rung so clear.
The 2014 national championships are less than two weeks old, but as America’s heavyweights retreat to their corners, the class of tomorrow has already hopped into the ring.
There was a quiet transition in Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend, as the city hosted its 23rd annual $100,000 Open. Several of last week’s U.S. title players took advantage of their peak forms and hit the event on the way out of St. Louis, including third-place finalist Aleksandr Lenderman. The 22-year-old New Yorker had just lost a three-way Armageddon playoff for the national title on Tuesday, but dusted himself off quickly for the weekend, finishing in 9-10th place against a field of 20 Grandmasters and 40 other titled players.
Passing Lenderman, in a sense, was Lindenwood University star Priyadharshan Kannappan - or “Priya” as he is affectionately known around chess circles. Kannappan was unearthed as part of the St. Charles University’s new chess program two years ago, after he left a small town in India for the budding St. Louis scene. He made an instant impact, becoming a regular fixture around the city’s chess happenings, a member of the St. Louis Arch Bishops team and the 2012 MVP of the U.S. Chess League.
