12-year-old Brooklyn chess champ eyes bold move: becoming youngest grandmaster ever
BY Michael Preston
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, June 2nd 2011, 4:00 AM
Already a rising national star at age 12, Bed-Stuy chess champ James Black Jr. wants to become the youngest American grandmaster in the game’s storied history.
Black led the chess team from Intermediate School 318 in Williamsburg to national championships in both the K-8 and K-9 divisions in April – and is only seven points away from the 2,200 needed to be named a master.
“It would mean a lot because I’ve worked so hard for it,” said James. “I’ve practiced a lot to become a great player.”
James wants to beat the record of Ray Robson, a Florida player who became the youngest American elected grandmaster at age 14 in 2009.
He needs to amass at least 2,600 points by continuing to win tournaments and score favorable results against existing grandmasters to receive that title.
More here: http://www.nydailynews.com
Good luck James!
While James is contemplating becoming the youngest Grandmaster ever…at his age, Karjakin already did it. But good luck trying to be the youngest in the U.S.!
It is incredibly petty of you to edit both the photograph and the article to remove the reference to Ms. Elizabeth Vicary. Shame on you, Ms. Polgar. I have read your blog for ten years …no more.
Not sure what the problem is with John Galvin. This article is about young Mr. Black and not Ms. Vicary. Is he/she jealous of people paying attention to a talented and nice black kid?
Gimme a break. It sounds like someone’s ego is bruised? And am I mistaken that GM Polgar’s blog is only 6 years old? So Galvin read her blog 4 years before it was created? Amazing. Shame on you Galvin for sensationalizing it. It’s always a race thing, isn’t it?
I’m tired of this race stuff. John, you’re very wrong to get into it. We should celebrate this kid’s success and not trying to using the kid to promote his teacher. Anyway, any reader can read the full story with Vicary’s points. So what’s the big deal? You’re usually a “normal” blogger but you’re wrong on this one. You should apologize to everyone for your comment, especially to the kid.
Chill, dude. You should thank Ms. Polgar for promoting the accomplishment of Black instead of insulting her. None of us would even know about him without her post. Chill.
I question whether the poster who posts here as John Galvin is the actual John Galvin.