Lawrence Township Third-Grader is Chess Champion

Editor's Note: The following news brief was contributed by .

Maanav Ganthapodi, third-grader at Lawrenceville Elementary School, placed third at the third-grade level of the United States National Chess Championship held in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 18-20, 2011.

Before the national competition, Maanav took first place in the New Jersey State Championship at his grade level (for the third year in a row!) on Nov. 6.

He also was selected as a delegate to represent the United States in the 8 years and under category at the 2011 World Youth Chess tournament that was held in Brazil; however, due to prior commitments, he was unable to participate.

Maanav started playing chess when he was less than 3 years old. He devotes most of his free time to chess, competing in about 85 tournaments so far. He enjoys traveling to different places and meeting other participants.