2023 ChessKid YSCC First Round Results and Upcoming Semifinals!

The first round of the 2023 ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship just wrapped up, and it was one for the ages. We had two of the closest matches we have ever had!

In the opening match of this year's YSCC event, CM Aaron Mendes defeated Timur Dushatov 10.5 to 5.5. Aaron will face off against the top seed FM Fausti Oro after Fausti's win over Romanian player Andrei Negrean. Fausti ended the match with a score of 10.5 to 2.5.

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Not all of the matches were runaways though. Antoni Radzimski advanced the next round but only by a small margin of 7.5 to 5.5 over Patrick Liu. However, it was Megan Paragua who ended the first round with the closest matchup, winning over Alvaro Torres with a score of 7.5 to 6.5. Megan will face off against Antoni in the semifinal round.

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In the next few weeks, FM Fausti Oro will face off against CM Aaron Mendes while Antoni Radzimski and Megan Paragua will also battle for a spot in the YSCC Finals! Before we put the opening round behind us, let's look at some of the highlights from the opening round.

 

Top-seeded Fausti also got off to a fast start in his match over Andrei, scoring 5.5 to 1.5 points. While he didn't let up in the 3+1 section, the young Romanian player didn't give up without a fight:

 

 

In almost a reverse of Fausti's match, Aaron and Timur were more even in the 5+1 section with a score of 4.5 to 3 points. However, in the 3+1 section, Aaron hit the gas and didn't look back, piling up 5.5 points and only dropping a single game in the section.

 

 

In the match between Megan and Alvaro, the American hit the ground running with a commanding lead of 5.5 to 1.5 points. However, in the 3+1 section, Alvaro came back swinging with four wins in the first five games of that time control. However, Megan was able to save her match with a win in game six of the 3+1 section. Check it out below:

 

 
Antoni also faced a close match against his opponent, Patrick. However, he did not start with a big lead in the 5+1, but instead had to make up ground after a shaky 2.5 start against Patrick's 4.5. Antoni found his footing in the 3+1 section though, not dropping a single game and ending with a final score of 7.5 points to Patrick's 5.5.
 
 

 

 
 

 Be sure to catch the semifinal rounds starting on August 1st!