Tanraj Sohal wins Canadian Chess Championship in Winnipeg, sets new records

Tanraj SohalTANRAJ Sohal, a Grade 12 student from Surrey, won the 2014 Canadian Chess Championship held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on May 18-19 in his grade level.

Tanraj had earlier won the Fraser Valley Regional Chess Championship in Surrey in February and BC Provincial Chess Championship held in Richmond in March.

Tanraj started playing chess when he was in Grade 1. Overall, he has won both the Fraser Valley Regional Chess Championships and BC Provincial Chess Championships in his grade level from Grades 1 to 12, a record 12 consecutive years. He has represented BC at the Canadian Chess Challenge held across Canada from 2003 to 2014, a record 12 years in a row. He has won the Canadian Chess Challenge (National Championship) nine times, setting a new record for the highest number of national championships won by any player in the history of this tournament.

Canadian Chess Challenge is the annual event where each province is represented by their 12 provincial champions (one player each from Grades 1 to 12). Canadian Chess Challenge is organized and sponsored by the Chess’n Math Association, Canada’s National Scholastic Chess Organization. Each player plays nine round robin matches over two days in their respective grades against each of the provincial champions.

Tanraj was recognized by the Chess’n Math Association with a special plaque presentation as the only player in the history of the tournament to represent his province at the Canadian Chess Challenge for 12 consecutive years. Tanraj was also honoured to carry the Canadian flag during the opening ceremony of the Canadian Chess Challenge.

Tanraj is the current BC Chess Champion (best chess player in BC regardless of age).