Yang seeks checkmate at nationals
BY Brad Grim, Special to the Star Courier
Published: Tuesday, July 6, 2010 4:04 PM CDT
Starting Friday, the chess pieces will be set for Plano resident Darwin Yang as he heads to St. Louis to take on the best Under-20 players the country has to offer at the 2010 U.S. Junior Closed Chess Championship.
The field consists of 10 players with the common goal of winning the tournament, collecting a grand prize of $3,000 and an automatic bid to the World Junior Chess Championship.
“This is the biggest tournament I have played in at least recently,” Yang said. “I think it’s a nice opportunity and I’m very excited.”
At age of 13, Yang is one of the youngest competitors in the field. But despite being young, Yang doesn’t feel he’ll be at a disadvantage.
“Playing against older competitors is not a new feeling for me,” he said. “Most of the tournaments that I play in have adults competing in them so it isn’t uncommon for me to be younger than my opponent.”
Yang first got introduced to chess in second grade when he attended an after school daycare that featured a chess coach. Yang started playing chess competitively in 2004 and his hard work has paid off as he is faced with a tremendous opportunity.
“Being invited to this tournament was an intermediate goal for me,” Yang said. “My ultimate goal is to become a Grand Master.”
Here is the full article.
Good luck Darwin!