Massive WYCC starts in Porto Carras in Greece

With so many categories and names, it is hard to know where and who to look for, so without any claims of an exhaustive list, names will be mentioned with some of the lovely photos and portraits by Reint Dykema, who has been of invaluable help over the last couple of World Youth championships.

The playing venue of the World Youth championships overlooks a breathtaking area in
Porto Carras, Halkidiki in Greece.

The entrance to the venue

There are numerous attractive options to stay such as the Lagomandra Hotel

As can be expected in this luxurious seaside area, beautiful yachts and boats are everywhere

Teams from all over the world flew in to partake in this memorable competition. Go Team Lebanon!

Representatives of Team Iraq

An overhead view of the large playing hall

The chief arbiter opens the round and ensures a smooth competition, at
least as smooth as can be hoped for with 1600 youths, parents and coaches

The beginning of the hostilities is always prefaced by a handshake

One of the most fascinating categories is the Boys Under-12. Playing black is the
top seed Nodirbek Abdusattorov, rated an astounding 2432 FIDE at just 11 years old!

The USA brought in their heaviest guns, but the biggest name is wthout a doubt...

... FM Awonder Liang, 11 years old, and rated 2365. Awonder had a rough start with a draw
in round one, but has since recovered with clean wins. Bear in mind of all the most prominent
US super-talents he is the one in the most difficult situation, having secured no top coach or aid.

Let's also not forget German talent Vincent Keymer, also 10 years old,
untitled and sporting a hefty 2347 FIDE. In spite of that rating, it is
incredible to think that he is only the fourth seed in his division.

In the Boys under-14, the big favorite is Iranian super-talent M.Amin
Tabatabaei, who is rated 2488 and on the rise. He edges out his nearest
rivals by a hefty 50 Elo.

Here is a name to definitely watch for: Bibisara Assaubayeva from Kazakhstan
ranked 11th in the Girls under-18. What is so special about this young lady?
She is only 11 years old playing against rivals as much as 6-7 years older, and
don't kid yourself, she is no lightweight... so to speak.

It is still not all about number ones and number twos. This is Algerian Wassel Bousmaha,
in the under-10 who beat Russian Andrey Tsvetkov rated 400 Elo more! Note that Wassel
is also the African under-10 champion.

The young lady on the left with the sharp looking green cap is Anri De Villiers of South Africa

Dilligently writing down the moves

Isik Can from Turkey is playing in the Boys under-10 with a broken hand.
Boys will be boys.

Hypnotizing the pieces or hypnotized by the pieces?

Seven-year-old Anishka Vikram from India

Amelie Phung from the USA is playing in the Girls under-8

WCM Isil Can from Turkey is playing in the Girls under-10

13-year-old WFM Marina Gajcin hails from Serbia

The tournament would hardly be complete without the cohort of parents...

... and coaches to ensure the well-being of the youngsters.

A breathtaking sunset at Porto Carras

About the photographer Reint Dykema is a passionate chess dad. Both his two sons Dirkho and Joshua compete this year in the World Youth championships. This is the third World Youth that Dykema has the opportunity to take photos and work closely with ChessBase. In last year's World Youth championship in Durban, Dykema was the official photographer. Over weekends he is also a wedding photographer when he is not taking photos in the local tournaments in South Africa.

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.