IM Aaron Mendes Clinches ChessKid Under 13 Youth Championship
Your favorite Canadian International Master is back! Aaron Mendes, the 12-year-old chess prodigy and 2023 ChessKid YSCC champion, has just won the Under 13 section at the 2025 ChessKid Youth Championship! After a series of tough games against some of the best young players, Aaron was able to defeat FM Megan Paragua in the finals of the event and scored 14/21 overall.The 2025 Under 13 ChessKid Youth Championship was held May 3-4. The games were played with a 3+1 time control and a $5,000 prize fund, with $1,500 for first place. The Under 16 section will be held June 7-8.
Be sure to check out the Under 16 section on June 7-8!
After going 2.5/3 in the semifinals against FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty, Aaron moved onto the finals where he would play a best-of-six blitz series against Paragua to determine the winner of the event. In the first round, Paragua took advantage of a missed win by Mendes and held out for a 100-move draw.
Paragua then was able to take the lead in game two, but Aaron quickly responded by winning game three with stylish endgame technique.
The finals were best of six, and Paragua and Mendes remained neck-and-neck up until game five. Paragua clinched a late checkmate forcing Aaron's hand in game six. He needed to win in order to tie the match and play the subsequent tiebreak rounds. He was able to pull off the win after a strong kingside attack and extend the match into tiebreaks.
FM FunMasterMike and GM Ben Finegold hosted the live broadcast.
You can watch the exciting action on YouTube.
Congratulations to Aaron on his victory in the 2025 Under 13 ChessKid Youth Championship! What incredible moves will this rising star make next? Stay tuned!