Anna Cramling Takes the Hot Seat in the Latest Kids vs. Stars Challenge!
Hi ChessKids! Are you ready for another edition of Kids vs. Stars? On Monday, October 6th at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CET, WFM Anna Cramling will be up against four talented chess players, from four different continents — all at the same time!WFM Anna Cramling is one of the most popular chess content creators, with more than 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube. Cramling has represented Sweden in both the 2016 and 2022 Chess Olympiad, and has a peak rating of 2175! She also recently published her first Chessable course, all about 1.d4 and her opening strategy. Will she use her opening skills effectively against the kids, or do these four have something else up their sleeves? Let's take a look at her competition!
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Kayal Vijay
Career Highlights: U8 Girls British Chess Champion 2025; U8 Girls EJCOA National Youth Champion 2025; U8 England Girls #1
Favorite school subject: Math
Favorite hobbies: Playing cricket, drawing, and coloring
Favorite chess player: Bodhana Sivanandan (a fellow ChessKid who competed in the last Kids vs. Stars!)
Basil Asalman
Career Highlights: Won his school's chess championship in 2024; won the silver medal in an open tournament arranged by the Saudi Chess Federation in 2025
Favorite school subjects: Math, physics, science
WCM Fady Heaven
Career Highlights: Two-time African Youth U10 Champion; U14 National Youth Chess Champion
Favorite school subject: Math
Favorite hobbies: Playing chess and piano
Favorite chess player: Mikhail Tal
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Zac Chua
Career Highlights: Joined 2025 World Cadet Cup in Batumi, Georgia; Finished 3rd in the ChessKid National Festival's K-5 U1200, and 2nd in the puzzle competition
Favorite Subject: Grammar and Literature
Favorite hobby: Piano
Favorite chess player: It changes, but for now it is Magnus Carlsen
How will this episode of Kids vs. Stars work? Cramling will play as White on all boards and will receive 65 minutes with a 15-second increment on her clock. Each kid will get 15 minutes with a 15-second increment. The first team to reach 2.5 points wins the event!
FunMasterMike will be hosting this episode's commentary, so be sure to tune in for live analysis and insights into some of the best young stars' moves!
In the last edition, GM Naroditsky prevailed by beating the kids with a score of 2.5-1.5, losing only to IM Alice Lee. How will Cramling fare against this fierce new competition? Make sure to join us on October 6th at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CET on Twitch.tv/chess as well as YouTube.com/chess to find out!