U.S. Head of Delegation – TEAM USA
After Day 1 at the 2012 NAYCC
México City, Mexico
Report by Abed Munoz
Day one of this North American Youth Chess Championship ended on a positive note for Team USA as five of our nine American players went completely undefeated. Team USA scored 13 of 18 possible points against Mexico in the first two rounds, thus having a 72% plus ratio. We did not have representation in the U-18 girls, U14 Boys, U-16 Boys and U-18 Boys. Before anyone begins to comment on why the USCF did not send players it is simple, the parents and the children decide if they wish to invest on international trips such as these. The backbone of American scholastic chess, whether national or international will always be parental investment
The U-8 and U-10 categories were merged where both boys and girls are competing together due to lack of numbers in the girls categories, however at the end of the event the top 3-best boy and girl medal and earn their FIDE titles. The rest of the categories meet the FIDE requirements on numbers..
Several members of our team prior to each round gave their Mexican opponents a goodwill gift; I witnessed reciprocity from several Mexican players as well. Here is where chess transcends international politics and national issues.
After two rounds of play, here are the individual results. Today two additional rounds will be played.
U8 Girls
Aksithi Eswaran 1.0
U10 Girls
Chenyi Zhao 2.0
U12 Girls
Ashritha Eswaran 2.0
U14 Girls
Kristen Sarna 0.0
U16 Girls
WCM Claudia Munoz 1.0
U8 Boys
Joaquin Perkins 2.0
U10 Boys
Pranav Senthilkumar 2.0
U12 Boys
Alexander Hemmat 2.0
Anirudh Seela 1.0
For additional information visit: www.chesscampeona.com
I notice that none of the names sound even remotely american
Anonymous,
You are correct, there are no names remotely American sounding such as Navajo, Comanche or Kickapoo. This means we need to work harder in the Indian reservations to get more native Americans involved in chess.
This has been overlooked for a long time. I am glad to see you so concerned as this should concern us all.
I think it’s terrible that anyone would judge a child’s nationality based on their name. America is a melting pot and always has been. Why can’t we celebrate the efforts of these kids instead, some of whom are under 8 years old? I agree we should give every child in America the chance to play chess or to pursue whatever their interests and dreams are, and I don’t care what their name is.