SPOTLIGHT: Illinois 1st grader a chess champion
By ARLENE MANNLEIN (Decatur) Herald & Review
2:50 a.m. CDT
, April 5, 2011

DECATUR Ill.—

As he’ll quickly say, Aydin Turgut is 6{ years old, and he does not like to lose.

He especially does not like to lose when it comes to chess, whether he’s playing his father, Tansel Turgut, a world-ranked correspondence chess player, or whether he’s competing against anyone else, such as those he faced when he became state champion in the Illinois State Scholastic K-8 Chess Championship tournament in March. Aydin brought home a seven games/seven wins record in his age division, competing with 88 players in time-controlled 30-minute matches.

Aydin, a McGaughey School first grader, also came in first in his age group in the blitz – five-minute chess match – tournament, this time competing with 90 players. He shared third place in the kindergarten-to-eighth-grade level overall.

“One of the games I won, and I had nine seconds left,” said Aydin, recalling the 30-minute games. He’s proud that among those other first graders he defeated is the son of a chess grand master who lives in Chicago.

Full article here.

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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