Corporate Blitz and Summer Spritz: Two Sigma Claims Top Honors Alongside Premier Banks and Tech Firms at NYCCL Summer Celebration
The NYC Corporate Chess League (NYCCL) recently hosted its "Summer Spritz & Speed Chess" event at Chief Flatiron, drawing over 60 competitive players from Manhattan’s finance, tech, and legal sectors. Sponsored by Sandline Global, the gathering featured a 5-round Blitz Swiss tournament that combined high-caliber play with corporate networking. Two Sigma secured their first top-spot team finish since 2018, while FM Alexander Bian, IM Michael Bodek, and NM Jalen Wang claimed the individual podium honors. The event underscored the league’s unique mission of fostering cross-industry connections through a shared passion for chess, offering a space where professional titles are set aside for the game
Bringing Chess into the Boardroom: What is the NYCCL?
Established in 2018, the NYC Corporate Chess League (NYCCL) connects professionals from New York’s top banks, tech firms, and law companies for friendly, unrated competition and networking. This invitation-only, volunteer-run league offers a unique space where titles fade and chess takes center stage. As co-founder Alexandra Tuhrim notes, it’s where players “come for the competition, stay for the connections, and become part of something bigger than the game."
Summer Spritz & Speed Chess at Chief Flatiron
This season’s gathering on June 25, 2026—the NYCCL Summer Spritz & Speed Chess event—brought together over 60 competitive players and enthusiastic spectators for an evening of fast-paced blitz chess, refreshing drinks, and lively catch-ups. The tournament featured the same format as our prior successful edition, a Blitz & Brunch alongside the 2024 World Rapid & Blitz Championships in NYC.
As a new venue for the NYCCL, we used the separate conference-room-turned-tournament-hall, which fell silent as soon as the blitz matches kicked off each round. The top boards featured a slew of local IMs, FMs, WIMs, and WFMs battling it out for bragging rights, while spectators silently cheered them on or played their own casual games around the bar.
During the breaks, chatter immediately broke out as players both analysed the complex positions and caught up on their latest career updates.
The event was hosted in collaboration with new sponsor Sandline Global, a cutting-edge electronic discovery litigation service provider and forensics vendor. Sandline’s Cara Lemire immediately saw the connections between chess, complex litigation strategy, and female empowerment. “I’m new to chess, but it didn’t take long to see why it mirrors eDiscovery. After hearing Alisa’s presentation at a Women in eDiscovery meeting years ago, I realised both disciplines demand the same mindset: strategic thinking, staying several moves ahead, adapting to changing information, and knowing when to rethink your approach.” Indeed, as a women-founded league, the NYCCL boasts an impressive number of both female players and captains. Our diverse membership stands out, considering we are drawing from a cross-section of high performers in traditionally male-dominated fields.
Over-the-Board Action: Results and Individual Standouts
The tournament was capped at forty players, with the top two scorers from a corporate team totalling their points towards the coveted team prizes.
Team Leaderboard: Two Sigma Breaks Through
While all games were friendly, the titled players immediately fell into their competitive rhythms while the blitz time control (3+2’) kept the pressure high. After several key match-ups, Two Sigma emerged victorious, beating out defending champions Deutsche Bank and Google, which fielded the most players. All three teams are “OGs” from the NYCCL’s inception in 2018, with this being Two Sigma and longtime captain Philippe Suter’s first appearance atop the podium.
Two Sigma Investments — 7.0 pts
NM Nithin Kavi: 4.0
Philippe Suter: 3.0Google — 6.5 pts
Yury Volvovskiy: 3.5
Mixay Soumpholphakdy: 3.0(T). Deutsche Bank — 6.0 pts
FM Igor Shneider: 3.0
WIM Elina Cotler: 3.0(T). BNP Paribas — 6.0 pts
Dimitar Zurlev: 3.0
Caesar Esfandiari: 3.0
Top Individual Performers
Alongside the team competition, the individual blitz competition was fierce. Three of the incoming favourites, each a NYCCL first-time competitor, finished at the top.
Community, Connection, and Remembrance
Before the awards ceremony, a poignant highlight of the evening was a collective moment of silence observed in memory of loved ones lost over the past year. The tribute served as a reminder of the deep personal bonds forged through the league, where players can always step back into the chess community and pick up right where they left off.
Status and standings aside, the true heart of the NYCCL remains its tight-knit community, brought together by a love of the game and a mutual support that extends far beyond the board.
Learn More
For more information, including future NYCCL team submissions and sponsorship opportunities, contact Alisa Melekhina and Alexandra Tuhrim on LinkedIn.
About the Author:
FM Alisa Melekhina is a World Team Championship gold medalist and long-time competitor in U.S. Open tournaments and women’s national and world team invitational events. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is currently a litigation partner in NYC, specialising in eDiscovery Strategy.
This article is edited by Jyotsna Bhushan.
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