World Youth Chess Championship 2011: Round 1

Play got underway today at the 2011 World Youth Chess Championship in the resort town of Caldas Novas, Brazil. Over a thousand of the world’s best young chess players took to the playing hall before 4:00 p.m. to make the first move toward winning a World Championship. For many of these young prodigies, this is the first time they have ever represented their country on foreign soil.
   Ben Rood, a seven-year-old from the United States, made a strong impression in his international debut. Ben played a wonderfully aggressive game with the white pieces against Avila Milder of Bolivia. On move six, Ben Rood left the book recommendations and forged a path he felt would lead to an advantage. This gutsy strategy paid off a short while later when Avila Milder made his first mistake on move eight and a second error on move nine. Avila’s most significant sin was offering to trade queens when Ben’s endgame prospects were very good. After the queens left the board, Ben kept pressing his advantage until his opponent succumbed. Throughout the game, Ben played with a cool confidence that is rare find even when observing chess players three times his age.

World Youth Chess Championship 2011

This November the world’s most talented players who are eighteen years and younger will converge upon Caldas Novas, Brazil in order to compete in the 2011 World Youth Chess Championship. These extraordinary chess talents will do battle for nine rounds in hopes of placing in the top three for their age group. Those fortunate enough to accomplish this task will be rewarded with bronze, silver and gold medals in an olympic style ceremony. Round one of the 2011 World Youth Chess Championship will begin on Friday the eighteenth of November. The official website for this event is http://www.wycc2011.com/. Those interested in the 2011 World Youth Chess Championship should also keep visiting this blog for regular updates on California’s participants as well as the insider details from my student Ben Rood.