Near the top of the world

WEST JORDAN, UT (ABC 4 News) – The sport of chess is very strategic and takes quite a bit of wisdom, but a 12-year-old from Utah has taken a top spot in the sport. West Jordan’s own Kayden Troff won big in Utah, the country and now he is #2 in the world.

Kayden was in Greece this weekend, playing for world title. He came in second in his age group.

Kayden’s mom Kim was with him the entire trip. She said, “I don’t think I even realized how big it was until we got there and there were 1,400 participants, 150 in his category alone. They came from 87 different countries.”

It was a big deal – basically, the Olympics of chess. But, what is it that makes this 12-year-old so capable of these challenges. His mom said, basically he’s really smart.

Kim said, “He has been able to see patterns since he was little. He learned his times tables in a week and when I said something about it, he said mom they are just patterns.”

For Kayden, he just loves the game. He isn’t just in it to win it.

Kayden said, “A lot of people are in this just because they want to win, but you just have to do it because you love it.”

Next up for Kayden, the state chess championship this weekend. His mom feels pretty confident he could take home the state title. Not just in his age division, but for the entire state.