Pondering his next move

CHESS CHAMPION
Pondering His Next Move
A Tabb High sophomore excels at chess in local and national contests and has beaten former state champs.

BY KAREN SPAULDING SPECIAL TO THE DAILY PRESS York County — It’s not every day you hear about a 15-year-old whose hobby is chess, let alone one who is the two-year reigning chess champion in Virginia. But Adithya Balasubramanian, a sophomore at Tabb High, plays at a level well beyond his years.

Adithya seems to take it all in stride and keeps looking for the next event. He began 2007 with his best move yet – he won the recent Pan American Scholastic Chess Championship in Washington, D.C., in December. The prize: a full college scholarship to the University of Maryland in Baltimore County, valued at more than $60,000.

“The Scholastic events are usually easy,” said Adithya, who often competes against adults. “But this one was harder; there were people from Canada, and one person from Canada was really good.”

A chess player since he was 6, Adithya moved here from India with his family when he was 12.

“Chess is a lot bigger in India,” he said. “There are more players your age, and my school encouraged me, as well as my coach. Coaches are more expensive here, so we are looking for a sponsor right now.”

Here is the full article.