Tani, Alice Win International Titles At North American Youth

The North American Youth Chess Championship concluded this weekend and there are some celebrations in order! With a score of 8.0/9, 10-year-old NM Tani Adewumi won the under 12 section. Just a few months after becoming an NM, he has now earned the FM title (same title as FunMasterMike just to give you some understanding)!

With a score of 7.5/9, 11-year-old WCM Alice Lee won the girls under 18 section. She will be awarded the WIM title for her victory! ChessKid is trying to confirm this, but she may be the youngest WIM in American history.

To celebrate both outstanding accomplishments, both Alice and Tani will be on ChessKid TV this week! Join us on Wednesday, August 25 at 6:30am Pacific/9:30am Eastern for "Alice's Pawn Palace" and also Thursday, August 26 at 6:30am Pacific/9:30am Eastern for the debut of our newest show "Tani Time!" Both shows can be seen on Chess.com/TV.

NM Brewington Hardaway also had a great tournament placing 4th in the under 12 section, including a very hard fought draw with Tani. 

Brewington Hardaway (left) and Tani Adewumi (right). Photo: Liam Murphy.

Alice and the Girls Under 18 Section

What winning move did Alice find here after Black's rook captured her bishop on e2? Answer below. 

Alice is only 11 but decided to play way up against much older girls. When asked about winning her section, she had this to say: 

"I felt mostly relieved after winning Game 9, the fifth and final consecutive 'must win' for me in this tournament against top girls like WFM Yassamin Ehsani and WCM Sheena Zeng. Their strong play forced me to play my best chess.

I am very pleased to get the WIM title at the age of 11. I would not have achieved this without the encouragement of my coaches, the support of my family, and most importantly, the tough challenges from my opponents."

 

Alice and GM Dmitry Gurevich after her victory! Photo courtesy the Lee family.

Tani and the Under 12 Section

Tani's 9th round victory against Alexander Wang 
 
When asked about winning his section Tani had this to say:
 
"I felt awesome! The last games were intense. Practice and hard work pays off and I feel great and I always thank God for the success."
 
 Tani and his trophy after his victory. Which is taller!? Photo courtesy the Adewumi family.
 
Lastly, we would like to mention Dimitar Mardov, former CONIC champion, who won the Under 18 Open section. This automatically confers the IM title. Great work Dimitar and we're guessing you look a little older now than when you were a ChessKid :-)
 
Answer to Alice Tactic: 1. Ra8 Bf8 2. Rxf8 1-0. Here her opponent resigned because if the king captures the rook she'll play Qh6 check, and then capture her opponent's queen. If her opponent instead tried Kg7 she would capture on f6 with check and then capture on e2 with a winning position.