We’re excited to announce that the ChessKid Youth Championships are returning for his or her second version in 2025! This on-line blitz occasion will deliver collectively the strongest prodigies of the sport and supply followers a glimpse of the intense way forward for chess.
The occasion will characteristic a $15,000 prize fund and two teams, with the under-13 group enjoying on Might 3 and 4 and the under-16 group on June 7 and eight. Every group will compete in a double round-robin, with the highest two from every group advancing to a knockout ultimate, all with a 3+1 blitz time management.
The ChessKid Youth Championship is Chess.com’s premier occasion for younger gamers. The occasion serves as one more proving floor for the 24-player discipline of record-breaking younger skills.
Coming again to defend his crown is GM Yagiz Erdogmus. The 13-year-old from Turkiye made headlines when he grew to become the youngest participant to ever cross the 2600 score barrier in 2024. That very same yr, he received each the under-13 and the under-16 sections of the ChessKid Youth Championships. Although he cannot play within the under-13 part anymore, Erdogmus is the highest-rated participant and one of many favorites to win the under-16.
One other younger participant who’s set to make some noise this yr is the younger IM Faustino Oro. Hailing from Argentina, the “Messi of Chess” changed into a worldwide phenomenon when he grew to become the youngest worldwide grasp in historical past.
Different gamers competing within the under-16 group are the youngest ever to achieve the grandmaster title, GM Abhimanyu Mishra; Chess.com Puzzles Champion, GM Andy Woodward; the youngest British grandmaster in historical past, Shreyas Royal; 2025 Ladies’s American Cup winner, IM Alice Lee; IM-elect Tani Adewumi; 2024 Ladies’s Chinese language Champion, IM Lu Miaoyi; and IMs Ryo Chen, Yu Tian Poh, Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov, and Marco Materia.
Followers may even see acquainted faces among the many youngest contributors enjoying within the under-13 group. One among them is WFM Bodhana Sivanandan, the World Beneath-8 Champion and the youngest participant ever to characterize England on the Olympic degree.
One other younger English expertise, FM Ethan Pang, can also be becoming a member of the sector. The ten-year-old wunderkind made information when he broke Oro’s file to grow to be the youngest participant ever to surpass the 2300 score mark. Pang achieved this spectacular feat after gaining a exceptional 70 factors when he tied for first in final yr’s Vezerkepzo IM Event in Budapest.
Ethan Pang – the youngest ever 2200 participant – has simply crossed 2300! 🤯 Congrats Ethan! pic.twitter.com/SVlbX2O1zx
— ChessKid.com 👑 (@ChessKidcom) October 31, 2024
Taking part in within the under-13 class are additionally the 2024 FIDE World Cadet Fast & Blitz Championship double-gold WFM Megan Paragua; 2023 Youth Pace Chess Championship winner IM Aaron Mendes; youngest-ever to beat a grandmaster, CM Ashwath Kaushik; FMs Mathias Casalaspro, Reyaansh Chakrabarty, Patrick Liu, Andrew Jing, Mark Smirnov, and Andrei Negrean; and CM Supratit Banerjee.
Followers can watch the occasion stay on our Twitch and YouTube channels, beginning with the under-13 group on Might 3 and 4 at 9 a.m. ET / 15:00 CEST / 6:30 p.m. IST. Tune in to take pleasure in each transfer by the youngest stars of the sport, with stay commentary by GM Ben Finegold and FM Mike Klein.
Who do you suppose will win in every group? Tell us within the feedback beneath!
