Student Champions

NM Dan Heisman, CHESS INSTRUCTOR

1359 Garden Rd., Wynnewood, PA 19096 - (610) 649-0750 danheisman@comcast.net
Last edited March 12, 2013

Main Chess Page - Lesson Page - Scholastic Page - Adult Hall of Fame (includes best tips)

LOCAL, STATE & NATIONAL CHAMPIONS:

* => Achieved US Chess Federation "Top-100" List for Their Age Group

Notes: 1) I list all awards of which I am aware, achieved during and after my coaching. Some players go on to other coaches, and others do not, so it is hard to differentiate which achievements, if any, are due to whose coaching! 2) While most of my students are adults, juniors win more champions because there are more scholastic championships to be won! 3) See my adult "Hall of Fame" for those who gained 500+ rating points

National Master Dan Benjamin*
Multiple PA High School State Champion (1990-1995) and National Master (NM)
- got his PhD from Harvard 2006, now a professor of Economics at Cornell
National Master Matthew Traldi*
Co-National Champion, K-6 at Scholastic Supernationals, April 1997
1997 US Eastern Amateur Champion; Aspis Prize Winner, 1998
2000 World Open U2200 winner ($10,000!)
2000 US Cadet Co-Champion!
2001 PA State Co-Champion
National Master Arthur Traldi*
Co-US 9th Grade Champion 1995 at US K-12 Championships
Co-Champion 2000 US Jr. Open!
Oliver Traldi*
PA 3^rd Grade Champion 1997
Expert Alex Graeffe*
1997 PA State 9th Grade Champion
2000 PA HS-Open 5th Place
2002 Liberty Bell U2000 Co-Champion (Adult)
Christopher Liman*
1997 and 1998 PA State K-6 Champion
2000 PA 7th Grade Champion
Stephen Kendrex*

1993 & 1994? US Kindergarden and US 1st Grade Champion (National K-12)

2003 Gr Phil Scholastic Chess Championship - Tie 5th Place 2003

Maung Hlaing
1997 National K-12 4th Place
1998 PA 10th Grade Champion
Expert Dan Inghram*
1997 National K-12 13^th place
1999 PA HS Open Championship 3^rd place
2000 PA 12th Grade Champion
National Master Kurt Schneider* (The lyricist and composer of "College Musical"!)
1997 PA K-6 3^rd Gr Champ
1998 PA K-8 4^th Gr Champ
1999 PA K-6 Championship 5^th place
2000 Liberty Bell U1600 3rd Place tie
2002 PA Middle School Champion

2003 PA 9th Grade Champion (4th overall)

2004 PA State HS Championship 2nd Place & PA 10th Grade Champion

2005 Gr Phila Jr Inv Champion

Zachary White*

1998 PA K-6 4^th Grade Champion
1999 PA K-8 5^th Grade Champion

2004 Philadelphia Championship Junior co-champion

3-time MVP for the Main Line HS Chess League

Delen Heisman*

1997 PA K-8 3rd Place;
1997 National K-12 9th Grade: 12th place
2000 PA 11th Grade Champion;
2000 US Jr. Open Top 16-year-old
2000 Atlantic Open co-champion U1800 section
Mike Lieberman*
1999 PA K-8 4th place
2000 Liberty Bell U1600 3rd place tie
2000 PA 9th Grade Champion
Mark Lieberman
1998 PA HS Novice Champion
James Conroy*
New Jersey Scholastic place winner
Clayton Keir*
1992 PA 1st Grade Champion; 1993 PA 2nd Grade Champion;
‘94 PA 3rd Grade Champion 1998 HS Novice 3rd Place;
1999 PA 8th Grade Champion; 2000 PA 9th Grade 2nd Place
Expert Michael Glick*
1999 PA 10th Grade Champion; National Chess Congress 1998 U1400 Champion
1999-2000 Philadelphia HS Champion; 7th place 2000 US Jr. Open
2001 PA High School co-Champion

2003 PA Collegiate co-Champion

2003 Main Line Chess Club Co-Champion (beat me in a playoff for 1st prize!)

2005 PA State co-Quick Champion (all ages!)

2005 PA State Collegiate co-Champion

Gautem Nagendra*
1999 World Open Under-1000 Champion; 2000 PA K-3 7th Place
Expert Alan Deckelbaum*
1999 World Open U-1000 1st prize winner (U1400 Section).
2000 PA Scholastic Championship 10th place K-8

2004 Greater Phila Junior Invitational co-Champion

2005 US Amateur East Top 3rd Board 6-0

Matthew Glick

2000 PA 1st Grade Co-Champion
JJ Warshaw
1999 PA 1st Grade 3rd Place; 2000 PA 9th Place K-3;
2000 North American K-8: 9th place 2nd grade
Ryan Propper
2000 Southern Colorado U1600 Champion (6-0)
2000 Colorado HS Championship: 4th place
Elizabeth Lakata*
2000 North American K-8: 2nd place 5th grade
2002 Gr Philadelphia Middle School Champion

2004 Gr Philadelphia HS Championship, tie 3rd Place

2004 US Youth Action, 25th place, HS Division

Justin Komisarof*
2000 North American K-8: 2nd place 7th grade
2002 Liberty Bell Open, co-champion U1600
2002 Gr Philadelphia High School Champion
Zach Thompson

2000 North American K-8: 4th place 7th grade

2003 Greater Phila Scholastic Chess Championship, 5th place

2005 PA HS Championship - 8th place

Anton Kovalsky
2000 North American K-8: 7th place 8th grade
Will Yu
2000 Atlantic Open co-champion, U1800 section
2001 PA High School co-12th Grade Champion
Matthew Hammond
2001 3rd Place K-3 S. Dakota Governor's Cup
2002 North Dakota K-3 Champion
Jenny Hammond
2001 3rd Place K-6 S. Dakota Governor's Cup
Expert Rory Wasiolek*
2001 Main Line Chess Club Junior Champion

2003 PA 10th Grade Co-Champion (3rd overall)

2003 Greater Phila Scholastic Chess HS Co-Champion

2004 PA HS Championship, Tie 3rd place

Maurice Bishop*

2001-2002 Gr. Philadelphia HS Chess Champion

2003 Gr. Philadelphia Invitational Junior Championship - 2nd place

2003 Greater Phila Scholastic HS Co-Champion

2004 Greater Phila Junior Invitational co-Champion

2004 Gr Philadelphia Area HS Co-Champion

Expert Josh Bowman*
2001-2002 Gr. Philadelphia Elementary Chess Co-Champion
2002 PA 4th Grade Champion

2003 Greater Phila Scholastic Chess Championship 2nd Place, MS Division

2004 PA Elementary Championship, Tie 6th place

2005 PA MS Championship - 3rd place, Co-7th Grade Champion

2005 Gr Phila Middle School Champion

2006 PA Middle School Champion

2007 5th place, PA High School Championship

2007 National Chess Congress U2000 tie 1st place

2008 Co-Champion, PA High School Chess Championship

2009 Co-Champion, PA High School Chess Championship

2010 PA Grade 12 co-champion

Patrick Schoener
2002 PA 5th Grade co-Champion

2003 Greater Phila Scholastic Chess Championship - Top 7th grade

Jamie Reilly (adult)
2002 US Open, 3rd place, Unrated

Scott Kerns (adult)

2002 New Mexico State Champion (BIG Upset - he was rated 1650!)

Jason Sheltzer

2002 National Chess Congress U1200 Champion ($1000)

Jeff Brunelle (adult)

2003 Liberty Bell, 1st place, U1800

Craig Klein (adult)

2003 Liberty Bell, 1st Place U1400

2003 Philadelphia Championship U1800 Section 1st place

Dan Crowley (adult)

2003 Liberty Bell, 2nd Place U1600

John Hanford

2003 Philadelphia Champions, U1400 Champion & 2nd place.

Zeb Rocklin

2003 Iowa State High School Champion

Tyler Severance

          2003 US Middle School (K-8) Championship, 28th place

Christopher Heung*

          2003 National K-3 Championship,18th Place

          2004 National K-3 Championship, 2nd place

          2004 28th place, World Youth Boys Under-10 Championship!

Matt Wilber*

          2003 National K-3 Championship, 40th Place

Joshua Lee (adult)

          2003 World Open - Tie 1st place, U1200 ($3,000!)

FIDE Master Daniel Yeager* 

Article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Dan Yeager

          2003 Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Middle School Champion

          2003 World Open - Tie 1st place, U1200 ($3,000!)

          2004 PA State MS Championship - Tie 6th place

          2004 Gr Philadelphia Scholastic Middle School Champion

          2005 PA State MS Championship - 8th Grade Champion

          2005 US Amateur East Champion!

          2005 Gr Phila High School co-champion

          2006 PA State High School Champion

          2006 Gr Phila Jr co-champion

          2007 PA State High School Champion

          2007 US Open Blitz Champion!

          2008 National High School Champion!

          2008 Denker High School Co-Champion

Expert Doug Burgwin*

           2004 PA State HS Championship tie 3rd Place & PA 12th Grade Co-Champion

           2007 National Chess Congress - tie 1st place, U2000 section

Ross Berkowitz*

         2004 Liberty Bell Open, Tie 2nd Place, U1800 section

           2004 PA State HS Championship tie 3rd Place

           2004 Gr Philadelphia Area HS Co-Champion

           2005 PA State HS Championship Top U1800

Michael Knudson*

         2005 South Dakota Primary (K-3) Champion

          2006 South Dakota Primary (K-3 Champion

Alex Karlovitz

         2005 PA State Elementary Championship, co-5th Gr Champion

Odette Moolten*

         2005 Gr Phila Primary Champion

          2006 Liberty Bell U1200 1st Place

          2006 PA State Primary (K-3) co-champion

Tommy Hsiao*

         2005 3rd place, PA High School Championship

          2006 5th place, PA High School Championship

Kevin Wu

         2006 3rd place, NC K-3 Championship

Michael Thompson

          2006 Champion, Utah 4th Grade Championship

          Elementary Champion, 13th All America Cup

          2009 Utah State Junior High Championship, 2nd place

Don Barrus (adult)

          2006 US 60-65 Champion (US Senior)

Shelly Lian

          2007 PA co-8th grade champion

National Master Sarah Chiang*

        2007 2nd Place, FIDE World Girls U-10 Championship

National Master Jonathan Chiang*

         2007 6th Place, FIDE World Boys U-8 Championship

Chirag Ram*

         2008 Tie 4th (7th overall), PA State Primary (K-3) Championship

         2009 Gr Philadelphia Elementary (K-6) Champion

Anders Ohlund (adult)

         2008 Swedish U-1400 Champion (7-0!)

Expert Christopher Yang*

         2009 Top 4th grade (3rd overall) PA Elementary (K-6) Championship

         2010 PA Elementary (K-6) Champion

         2011 PA Elementary (K-6) Co-Champion

Vijay Friedman

         2009 Tie Top 7th grade PA State Middle School (K-8) Championship

Sean Senft*

         2009 Tie 1st-3rd PA State Primary (K-3) Championship

         2009 Tie 1st VA Primary (K-3) Championship

         2010 9th place trophy, PA K-6 Championship

Gilman Bagga*

         2009 K-5 Kentucky state champion

Joe Casey (adult)

         2009 US Amateur East Reserve co-champion

Nate Kolo*

         2009 9th grade champion; NJ Grade Level Championships

Pete Shedor (adult)

        2009 North American Open co-champion U1600 section

FM and Senior Master Will Fisher*

        2010 PA 10th Grade Champion (5th overall)

        2010 Gr Phila High School Champion

        2010 Phila Open U2100 1st place

        2011 PA State HS Champion

        2012 Pan-Am Boys U18 Champion! (IM norm!)

Ryan Schiller

        2010-11 Greater Philadelphia Elementary (K-6) Champion

Torin Kuehnle

         2011 4th Place PA State Elementary (K-6) Championship

         2012 PA State 4th Grade Champion (K-6 Championship)

         2013 PA State K-6 Co-Champion

Alara Balasaygun

         2011 Girls U-8 Winner - North American Youth Championship

         2012 PA Scholastic Chess Championship, 3rd place K-6

Alex Quirindongo

         2012 PA State Top U1800, High School Championship

         2013 PA State Top U1600, K-12 Championship

Adam Serota

         2010 Greater Philadelphia K-1 Champion

         2010 Greater Philadelphia K-3 Champion

         2011 Greater Philadelphia K-6 Champion

         2011 National Elementary Championship - tied for 20th place K-3 Division

         2011 National K-12 Championship - 14th place 3rd Grade Divison

         2012 2nd Place & PA 3rd Grade Co-Champion

         2013 PA State K-6 Co-Champion

Selim Caner (Adult)

        2012 National Chess Congress U1200 1st place (6-0!) - $1,400

Expert Marcell Szabo

        2012 National K-12 6th Grade Champion

Adult Hall of Fame

Players who started lessons over the age of 21 and moved up their USCF, FIDE, or ICC Standard rating by more than 500 points during the lesson time period.

If you think you qualify, let me know!

• Howard Stern (ICC)

• "Mrboejangles" (Frank Ungrady; ICC)

• Craig Klein (USCF)

• Ernie Weaver (USCF)

  Ernie's tips on improvement:

  1. Positive feedback on my games.  Dan has given me a lot of insight about "break moves", getting all of my pieces developed quickly in the opening, making my pieces active while minimizing activity of my opponent's pieces, and so many other simple suggestions that have helped me tremendously.
  2. Good thought process.  Dan taught me to use a disciplined approach he calls "real chess".  Examining all "checks, captures, and threats" is just one example.  This helped me establish a thought baseline which I can use throughout every game.
  3. Analysis.  Listening to Dan analyze has given me a great deal of insight into how a master thinks.  This has helped me realize what I should be thinking about during each move.
  4. Lesson puzzles.  Dan has shown me a lot of flaws in my own thought process after listening to me solve puzzles.  He has also taught me a lot of practical ideas embedded within each puzzle that can be applied to real game situations.
  5. Puzzles and tactics.  I solve a puzzle each day on "chessgames.com" and have practiced about 70,000 tactics problems on "chess.emrald.net". [Dan's note: these days most prefer Chess Tempo as an online tactics server]
  6. Annotated master games.  Studying master games has given me a greater understanding of every phase from the opening to the endgame.
  7. Blitz chess.  Playing 2 minute games with a 5 second increment has helped me learn openings and spot safety concerns more quickly.  It also helps me play more comfortably and quickly when down on time.
  8. "Fritzing" my games.  I use Fritz for post-mortem analysis on every slow game I play.  This mostly helps to show me where I missed tactical ideas.
  9. Openings.  Using MCO or Fritz's opening database helps me to correct any opening mistakes I've made.

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