As we approach the end of this year, I thank our players, coaches, chess parents, chess tournament organizers,
tournament directors, Regional Directors and all who supported the Texas Chess Association in 2021. Our TCA
leadership continues to focus on opportunities for chess players to play the game we all love. Among those
former TCA members who contributed greatly to our mission, let us remember those who passed away during the
past year:

David Harvey – TCA Lifetime Member, Region III Scholastic Representative, TCA Bylaws Committee member
and U.S. Army Veteran.
Igor Garcia – Beloved husband of TCA Secretary Renate Garcia, Co-Founder and VP of the Crusader Chess
Club of El Paso. U.S. Army Field Artilleryman.
Wilford Biggs – Chess Coach and J.P. Elder Middle School and U.S. Marine Corps Veteran.

We are grateful for their contributions to our mission over the years. May they rest in peace. If we missed any
former TCA members who passed away this year, please let us know.

Some TCA members have stepped up and volunteered their time to support our chess players. Thanks to them for
their support. Also, we thank those who are no longer serving in leadership capacities with TCA but who gave
much of their time in supporting our mission. These, both outgoing and incoming, include:

Leigh Harrington, TCA Historian. This is a new position. Leigh has been instrumental in researching and
posting the Texas Knights magazine on our website, dating back to 1987 issues, and we welcome his
contributions as our first TCA Historian!
Nellie Naidoo has assumed the duties of Region V Scholastic Representative. For many years, Nellie has been
instrumental to scholastic chess in the Houston area. Thanks, Nellie!
John Hyltin resigned as Director for Region VI. Our thanks to John for all he did for TCA and the players of
Region VI and our gratitude to Cyrus Hyatt for assuming the Regional Director duties for that Region.
Ed Guetzow resigned as Director for Region VIII. Ed was instrumental to TCA and his region, and we wish him
the best. Victor Flores, who for many years has been a driving force to chess in that region and is also our
Scholastic Committee Chair, has agreed to be our new Region VIII Director. Our thanks to Victor for, once again,
stepping up in support of our players and adding one more thing to his plate!

Charlie Vetter resigned from the position of Director of Region IX and replaced with William Bodnar. Our
thanks to Charlie for all he did and to William for all he is about to do!

Also, thanks to the members of the newly formed TCA Committee for Pay of Organizers, TDs and
Tournament Staff. They are: Gary Gaiffe (Chair), Lakshmana Viswanath, Eddie Rios and Luis Salinas.
They will help us in providing consistency in the pay of those key individuals working at our events. These
recommendations are limited to events organized by TCA and not to those that are bid out.

During the past year, our players have performed superbly at both State and National events, and much has
already been published for our state championships, both scholastic and open. Congratulations to our state
champions and thanks for all the players who participated and to the parents., coaches, and friends who supported
them! Also, during the past few months, players from Texas had outstanding performance at National events.
Five of our players represented us at the US Chess National Invitational Championships in Cherry Hill, New
Jersey. Those were: IM Doug Root (Irvin National Tournament of Senior State Champions), FM Anish
Vivekananthan (Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions), Aryan Gutla (Barber National
Tournament of Middle School State Champions), Ryo Chen (Rockefeller National Tournament of Elementary
School State Champions), and WCM Ambica Yellamrayu who finished in a two-way tie for first place at the
Haring National Tournaments of Girls State Champions and, as result, earned a National Champion title! We
thank our players for representing Texas well and congratulations for their second-place finish among teams from
all states!

At the recently concluded US Chess National Grade Championships in Orlando, three Texans won National
Championships. Eric Chang Liu and Luca Chang finished in a tie for first place in the 6 th Grade Championship,
while Vishnu Chetlapalli finished in a tie for first place in the 1 st Grade Championship! Congratulations to these
three players as well!

We have some TCA events coming up, including the newly formed Texas Scholastic Online Quick Open Chess
Championships which will take place on January 22 nd , the Texas Scholastic Super State Chess Championships,
March 11 – 13 in McAllen, and the Texas State and Amateur Championships, May 27 – 30 in Irving. As always,
we appreciate your support and participation in these events!

On behalf of the Texas Chess Association, I wish all of you health and happiness in this upcoming holiday season,
and in years to come. With your support, 2022 will be another very successful year for all of us.

Franc Guadalupe
President, Texas Chess Association