Samrug Narayanan is Once Again our Minnesota State Champion!
- Tim R
- Apr 8
- 2 min read
The 2025 Stenberg Cup State Championship Playoffs were held in Plymouth the weekend of March 28-30. There were 6 players in each of the hotly contested 4 sections which were directed by ANTD Jiten Patel.
In the Premier section, IM Samrug (Sammy) Narayanan was crowned our Minnesota State Champion for the 3rd consecutive year. Sammy was able to hold 12-time State Champion IM Sean Nagle to a draw in their critical round 5 battle to secure the title. The dramatic finish was somewhat anticipated when lots were drawn for the playoff pairings a few weeks back. Sammy & Sean have battled for the state title the prior 3 years, and 2 of those years required playoffs to ultimately determine the Champion. Thus, when they were scheduled to play in the final round it was anticipated that would be a critical game for determining our 2025 State Champion.
However, there was some outstanding performances that added to the excitement. Rapidly rising star Jordan Timm was able to nick Sean for a draw in round 3, and Andrew Titus was able to get a very rare full point against Sean in round 2. Thus, going into the last round Sammy and Andrew were tied with 3.5 points, and Sean and Jordan were close behind with 2.5 points. Jordan was matched up with Andrew in round 5 and of course Sean was matched up with Sammy. Thus, there was the real possibility of a 4-way tie at 3.5 points and the need for ANOTHER PLAYOFF! That possibility was looking even more probable when Jordan quickly defeated Andrew in round 5. However, Sammy was able to hold off Sean's relentless pressing for the win and thus claimed sole possession of the championship crown with 4.0 points.
In the Expert Section it was strong performances from David Schabert and John Blomer that resulted in 3.5 points and a tie for 1st place. David and John are two of our gifted young players who are quick with their calculations and somewhat genius with their post-mortem game analysis.
In the Amateur Section it was two more of our top young talents tying for 1st place with 4.0 points. Ethan Harrison & Michael Perry had a 1st round draw and then went on to both score 3.5 out of 4.0 points against the rest of the field. In contrast to the quick calculation style of Schabert & Blomer...Harrison & Perry tend to be a bit more deliberate and play a fighting brand of chess. Different styles but with equal success for our Amateur Section Co-Champions.
In the Reserve Section it was new player Saleem Amini scoring 4.0 points to edge out Matthew MingMing Liu who had 3.5 points. Saleem & Matthew had a round 1 draw and then both scored well against the rest of the Reserve Section field.