Ballantyne wins All-Girls Title!

Ballantyne shows off her scholarship letter. Photo by Elizabeth Vicary.

Rochelle Ballantyne of Brooklyn Tech won the All-Girls 18-under title with 5-1. Danni Chen of Ohio State University also had 5-1 but with inferior tiebreaks. The All-Girls championship is sponsored by the Garry Kasparov Foundation in cooperation with the University of Texas at Dallas. The tournament has been in existence since 2004 when Medina Parrilla, Stephanie Ballom and Anna Ginzburg won the under-14, under-16 and under-18 respectively.

Ballantyne, a rising star from the Brooklyn area, won a $68,000 scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). UTD has become one of the premiere programs in the country as far as providing academic/chess scholarships to talent young chess players. Along with UTD, Texas Tech and the University of Texas at Brownsville have developed successful programs. University of Maryland at Baltimore is the other marquee college chess program.

Rochelle Ballantyne. Photo by Anthony Causi.

Classic photo of Rochelle Ballantyne.
Photo by Anthony Causi.

Ballantyne, a freshman at the competitive Brooklyn Tech, may follow a great number of strong players who have won scholarships to the UTD. This includes Parrilla who is completing her first year.

USCF: https://main.uschess.org/content/view/10322/585/

7 Comments

  1. Congratulations Rochelle Ballantyne, women startin to beat us in errthing !! I think the male ego gets in the way,watch this, Jimmy Canty, the Buffalo Crew doggin me about how good u look in ur suit!, they sayin u takin it to the next level like L-Bron, I said thats cool as long as he doesnt suit-up! yessirrr , if any one of yall young guns try to suit-up, Justus, Josh, I got one word fo ya, Ba-Ba-Ba Billiups!!! yesssirrr , its gunna get REAL! see Rochelle we terrible! Thats a sweet scholarship girl , once again well done! Peace.

  2. Congratulations Rochelle and family on your accomplishment! Opening a doorway to college is a step toward more opportunities..good luck!

  3. I am very proud of you for all you have accomplished. My first impression of you was at the simul, in Harlem, where Garry Kasparov distinguished your game from all the others. Since then I saw you at various tournaments and continued to be impressed by your chess ability and calm disposition. I am also a Technite, class of 83, and remember they had a wonderful chess club where I was able to meet GM Maurice Ashley-another product of Tech. Congratulations and I wish you much more success in the coming years.

  4. Hopefully your future is as bright as your smile! Continue to maintain your diligence in all your pursuits and the sky is the limit young lady you have done yourself and us all very proud, please continue!

  5. Since then I saw you at various tournaments and continued to be impressed by your chess ability and calm disposition. I am also a Technite, class of 83, and remember they had a wonderful chess club where I was able to meet GM Maurice Ashley-another product of Tech.

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