The 21st annual Southern Class Chess Championship kicks off today in Orlando, Florida! The event will take place from 15-17 March at the Wyndham Orlando Resort, with seven competitions: Masters Section (for players rated 2100+), Expert Section (for players rated 1900-2199), Class A Section (for players rated 1700-1999), Class B Section (for players rated 1500-1799), Class C Section (for players rated 1300-1599), Class D Section (for players rated U1400), and Class E Section (for players rated U1200).
The events will be played in 5 rounds, swiss system, with classical time control and a guaranteed prize fund of $17,000. More than 200 players registered for the Championships, and the top-seeds are GM Sergei Matsenko (2530), GM Vladimir Georgiev (2400), and GM Nikola Mitkov (2373). The complete list of registered players is shown below.
Detailed information about the event can be found on the tournament webpage.
List of registered players – Southern Class Chess Championship 2024:
| Player’s Name | FIDE Rating | Section | |
| 1 | Matsenko, Sergei (GM) | 2530 | Master (2100/up) |
| 2 | Georgiev, Vladimir (GM) | 2400 | Master (2100/up) |
| 3 | Mitkov, Nikola (GM) | 2373 | Master (2100/up) |
| 4 | Sheehan, Ethan Thomas | 2322 | Master (2100/up) |
| 5 | Perrine, Dalton (FM) | 2226 | Master (2100/up) |
| 6 | Venkat, Raghav | 2214 | Master (2100/up) |
| 7 | Chakrabarti, Brejesh (FM) | 2210 | Master (2100/up) |
| 8 | Gao, Marvin (CM) | 2184 | Master (2100/up) |
| 9 | Moore, Nickolas Arthur | 2140 | Master (2100/up) |
| 10 | Lapid, Lior | 2124 | Master (2100/up) |
| 11 | Singh, Siddharth | 2123 | Master (2100/up) |
| 12 | Slade, Theodore Luke | 2118 | Master (2100/up) |
| 13 | Hamley, Ryan Edward | 2091 | Master (2100/up) |
| 14 | Rajmohan, Vikram | 2083 | Master (2100/up) |
| 15 | Bryant, Todd Charles | 2060 | Master (2100/up) |
| 16 | He, Henry (CM) | 2042 | Master (2100/up) |
| 17 | Ramรฃยญrez Arellano, Jonathan | 2027 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 18 | Shukla, Aniket | 2006 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 19 | Charvein, Gabriel | 1995 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 20 | Murphy, Liam | 1995 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 21 | Shangin, Lev | 1994 | Master (2100/up) |
| 22 | Ligotti, John Joseph | 1991 | Master (2100/up) |
| 23 | Malyshev, Roman P | 1981 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 24 | Zhu, Linxi | 1981 | Master (2100/up) |
| 25 | Markovic, Goran | 1971 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 26 | Nair, Advait | 1968 | Master (2100/up) |
| 27 | Jagirapu, Harshin Reddy | 1959 | Master (2100/up) |
| 28 | Hoang, Truman | 1953 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 29 | Mallela, Abhishek | 1951 | Master (2100/up) |
| 30 | Durand, Phillip | 1949 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 31 | Jayaraman, Roshan | 1944 | Master (2100/up) |
| 32 | Miniello, Jonathan | 1944 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 33 | Patel, Arav | 1938 | Master (2100/up) |
| 34 | Rajagopal, Adharsh | 1935 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 35 | Kim, Changhyung | 1928 | Master (2100/up) |
| 36 | Bynum, Jacorey | 1926 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 37 | Cavallo, Michael | 1925 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 38 | Sokhanvari, Sam W | 1907 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 39 | Regam, Jessica (WFM) | 1904 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 40 | Singher, Jean-pier | 1895 | Master (2100/up) |
| 41 | Suresh, Akshat | 1884 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 42 | Gonzalez Mota, Oscar Sergio | 1872 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 43 | Strickland, Wayne Carl | 1869 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 44 | Mulay, Vivan Prakash | 1849 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 45 | Rajamani, Sureshkumar | 1844 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 46 | Sperber, Jacob | 1843 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 47 | Kumar, Agrim | 1836 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 48 | Ledas, Armandas | 1831 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 49 | Senczakowicz-gibo, Jake V | 1813 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 50 | Tikhomirov, Matthew | 1803 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 51 | Mishra, Om | 1801 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 52 | Blomer, John | 1784 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 53 | Friedman, Max Asher | 1781 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 54 | Sosa, Grey | 1781 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 55 | Bonnell, Leo W (Withdrawn) | 1771 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 56 | Matsenko, Elena (WFM) | 1756 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 57 | Zhou, Elizabeth | 1754 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 58 | Li, Sophie | 1750 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 59 | Roy, Ayush | 1734 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 60 | Sha, Yi | 1732 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 61 | Diaz, Miguel Carlos | 1717 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 62 | Yang, Lucas | 1712 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 63 | Mahesh, Kanishk | 1711 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 64 | Manivannan, Prajit (Withdrawn) | 1697 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 65 | Chen, Celine | 1682 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 66 | Castillo, Frank | 1672 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 67 | Patel, Soham | 1667 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 68 | Vila, Brandon Alexander (Withdrawn) | 1661 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 69 | Ganta, Srijan | 1656 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 70 | Hariharan, Sivaji | 1641 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 71 | Yang, Grace Siqi | 1533 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 72 | Davydov, Neryk | 1503 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 73 | Jagan, Aashish | 1496 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 74 | Cote, Gary L | 1487 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 75 | Jani, Aakash | 1464 | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 76 | Muneepeerakul, Analaya | 1413 | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 77 | Abbate, Frank | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 78 | Adams, Aiden | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 79 | Aharonian, Adrian | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 80 | Aharonian, Alexander | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 81 | Aharonian, Andre | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 82 | Araujo, Jayden Matthew | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 83 | Atara, Anaya | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 84 | Atseva, Violeta A | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 85 | Awasthi, Ghanishth Prabhakar | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 86 | Bachurin, Arsenio | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 87 | Bahou, Sam | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 88 | Bajo, Vanessa | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 89 | Bajo, Veronica | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 90 | Balsimo, Dustin A | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 91 | Barr, Perry | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 92 | Bayne, Ray | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 93 | Beers, Isabelle | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 94 | Bellamy, Brian | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 95 | Bennett, Parker | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 96 | Bihari, Krishna | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 97 | Boley, Ethan Francis | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 98 | Borzillo, Anthony D | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 99 | Brewer, Jordan Michael | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 100 | Broom, Maximilian Kolbe | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 101 | Broom, Michael J | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 102 | Brown, William Allan | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 103 | Bryant, Jack Myer | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 104 | Bu, Matthew | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 105 | Byrnes, Joseph J | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 106 | Chai, Ben | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 107 | Chakrabarti, Parvati | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 108 | Collins, Ryan | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 109 | Coral, Mauricio | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 110 | Criscuolo, Joseph | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 111 | Crouch, Jerry | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 112 | Dacanay, Renato G | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 113 | Dasari, Saatvik | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 114 | Davis, Chad R | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 115 | Davydov, Avichai | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 116 | Davydov, Tova Elena | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 117 | Derwitsch, Mason Alexander (Withdrawn) | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 118 | Donayre, Luca Alonso | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 119 | Douglas, Benjamin | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 120 | Douglas, Zach | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 121 | Eyssallenne, Ari | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 122 | Felske, Nathan Allen | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 123 | Firestone, Jack | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 124 | Fiskum, Anon | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 125 | Forbes, Benjamin Weston | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 126 | Fortune, Saint | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 127 | Fraley, Alan | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 128 | Frioni, Nelson Angel | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 129 | Fullem, Aidan | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 130 | Galbmillion, Michael | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 131 | Gao, Mark | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 132 | Ghosh, Sanjoli | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 133 | Gilbert, Stacey M | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 134 | Gokul, Kashi | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 135 | Gong, James | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 136 | Gong, Simon | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 137 | Gonzales, Yovani | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 138 | Gonzalez, Harold Emanuel E | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 139 | Gonzalez, Luis Enrique | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 140 | Ha, Charlie | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 141 | Hanson, Michael John | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 142 | Hanzlicek, Alexander Wilson | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 143 | Hemenway, Logan | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 144 | Herrero Gonzalez Barros, Jaime | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 145 | Herreros, Stephen | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 146 | Holofiievskyi, Mykola | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 147 | Jani, Suraj | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 148 | Jankowsky, John Louis | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 149 | Jethwani, Shreeya | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 150 | Johann, Miles Joseph | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 151 | Jones, Caster | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 152 | Kan, Andrew S | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 153 | Ketchum, David S | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 154 | Kumar, Aanya | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 155 | Laveti, Shravan Kumar | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 156 | Lebon, John A | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 157 | Li, David | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 158 | Lippincott, Stephen | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 159 | Llamas, German Gregorio | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 160 | Lopez, Andres Camilo | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 161 | Lorenzo, Gabriel R | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 162 | Lorenzo, Julian | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 163 | Luong, Hoai Xuan | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 164 | Masny, Austin J | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 165 | Miller, Luke Colhan | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 166 | Mills, Omar Kasim | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 167 | Morris, Brian Lee (Withdrawn) | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 168 | Moschos, Mike | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 169 | Muneepeerakul, Rachata | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 170 | Nandan, Wriddhi | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 171 | Ortiz, Oscar | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 172 | Oyango, Adil | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 173 | Patel, Ved K | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 174 | Pimienta, Daniel | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 175 | Ponce Domingo, Ruben Jareth | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 176 | Prasad, Amit | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 177 | Qian, Evan Zeyu | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 178 | Quintela, Jonathan Jair | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 179 | Rajagopal, Akshay | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 180 | Ramirez, Nathan Cole | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 181 | Ramirez, Osvaldo | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 182 | Ramsey, Joshua | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 183 | Raymond, David A (Withdrawn) | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 184 | Reed, Anthony | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 185 | Ringel, George Ray | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 186 | Robertson, Brandon Steele | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 187 | Saha, Tanisha | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 188 | Salazar, Luis | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 189 | Saliva, Arturo | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 190 | Sammons, Reid | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 191 | Sarkar, Prerona | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 192 | Sha, Rui | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 193 | Shah, Sajan Gaurang | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 194 | Shankar, Neal | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 195 | Shanubhogue, Shubham Anantha | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 196 | Sisler, Benjamin David | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 197 | Snyder, Kyle James | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 198 | Speer, Eric | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 199 | Staley, Timothy Patrick | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 200 | Stegman, Jenny | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 201 | Stolen, Eric Douglas | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 202 | Suer, Ulas | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 203 | Swanson, Safari | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 204 | Taing, Kaiden | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 205 | Tal, Daniel | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 206 | Tal, Sofiya | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 207 | Tanksley, Quinton | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 208 | Valcourt, Fritz | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 209 | Vudutala, Saketh K | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 210 | Waghmode, Hrehaan | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 211 | Waite, Bill | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 212 | Walker, Kiani | N/A | Class C (1300-1599/Unr) |
| 213 | Wanek, Ellen Ann | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 214 | Wang, Stone | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 215 | Ward, Mike | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 216 | Wong, Michael J | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 217 | Wong, Tyler Sebastian S | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 218 | Wyss, Theodore Jude | N/A | Class D (Under 1400/Unr) |
| 219 | Xu, Zhihan Samuel | N/A | Class B (1500-1799/Unr) |
| 220 | Yalalt, Tuvshinsanaa | N/A | Class E (Under 1200/Unr) |
| 221 | Adorno, Javier E | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 222 | Daly, Charles D | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 223 | Hardison, William | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 224 | Knapp, Kyle Paul | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 225 | Lozano, Fabio | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 226 | Mccormick, Richard Patrick | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 227 | Narvaez, Luis Alfonso | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 228 | Oquendo, Eddy R | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 229 | Poste, Alexander Peter | Unr | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 230 | Samayamantri, Hemanth | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 231 | Scanlon, Devin Michael | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 232 | Sevilla, Kevin Matthew | Unr | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 233 | Song, Gavin Preston Yichen | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 234 | Tanksley, Quan | Unr | Expert (1900-2199) |
| 235 | Uhlig, Michael | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 236 | Yang, Daniel Benji | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 237 | Zabbia, Stephen | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
| 238 | Zelner, Zoe | Unr | Class A (1700-1999/Unr) |
