Tiny chess whiz to represent Canada
August 24, 2009 11:01 AM
BY KEELY GRASSER
Dora Liu, bouncing around happily in her flowered outfit and ribboned pigtails, doesn’t seem like your typical chess player.
But the active Markham 7-year-old will soon be representing Canada at a world youth chess championship in Turkey.
It’s astounding enough to see little Dora, who is going into Grade 3 at the Unionville Montessori School this fall, play advanced chess.
It’s even more surprising that she only took up the game this year.
‘Looked fun’
But she’s a fast learner, explained mom Anna Jin.
“I saw other people playing and it looked really fun so I asked my mom,” Dora explained.
She first played with her school principal and quickly began getting lessons and playing in tournaments.
What does she think of the highly-strategic game?
“It’s not hard. It’s not easy. It’s medium. But some chess players are very strong,” she said.
She placed third at the youth provincial chess championships in Kitchener in June.
After that, Dora tried to get as much practice as possible in the less than two months before nationals, playing as much chess as she could.
Dora said she played in 72 tournaments.
She competed in the Canadian youth nationals in Victoria B.C. in late July.
“We never thought that she would get first place,” Ms Jin said, adding that Dora told her otherwise.
There were 126 participants at the tournament, with Dora being one of the youngest, since she played in the Under 8 category, the youngest grouping, and her birthday is late in the year.
Despite the stiff competition, Dora said she didn’t get nervous.
“Why should I?” she asked.
She placed first.
Here is the full article.
Good for her.