Checkmate — Eight-year-old rules the board
By A.J. O’CONNELL
Wilton Villager – Wilton, CT
WILTON — Eight-year-old chess champion Kapil Chandran says sacrifice is his favorite part of the game.
“I might check my opponent by sacrificing a queen or a rook,” said the third grader, who recently won his third annual Connecticut Scholastic Chess Tournament at Yale University. “I like when you can sacrifice and still win somehow.”
Kapil’s been doing a lot of winning lately. He came in first in the K-3 division at the 2007 Scholastic Chess Tournament on March 24, and tied for first in his division at the ninth annual Foxwoods Open on the weekend of April 4.
“He was seeded 61st in a group of 93,” said Kapil’s mother, Dr. Priya Iyer. “He beat everyone he played against except the last one.”
Although Kapil lost that last match, his score tied him with three others for first place.
Kapil, a student at Cider Mill School, is currently ranked 17th in his age group by the United States Chess Federation. When the rankings are updated, say his family, he will be ranked in the top five.
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Good luck!
Does ranking really matter for a 8 year old? I am sad to see so many parents are so obsessed with their kids rating and ranking instead of their true learning experience in chess. Both of my kids are in national top list. They never seem caring about that. The only thing they care about is if they have had a good game and had fun with chess.
Kapil is an exceptionally talented young kid. In his last round game in Foxwoods Open U1600, having been exchange down, he fought back fearlessly forcing his opponent to work very hard for the game. Kapil will certainly go very far in Chess. Please keep it up Kapil!!!
In my experience obsession with ratings on part of the parents will can get kids only so far – perhaps even squeeze them into the bottom of the national top lists. However, the kids at the top of the national top lists fall in a different category and can’t be there unless they truly enjoy the game. This is true across anything, not just chess.
I have heard about Kapil but I never seen any of his games. Could somebody please send some to me?
Thank you,
uconnchess11@yahoo.com