The Sixth World School Chess Championship (under seven, under nine, under eleven, under thirteen, under fifteen and under seventeen years old – open and girls) is taking place between July the 20th and July 31st, 2010 in Kayseri, Turkey, under the aegis of the Turkish First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül. The event has been organized by Turkish Chess Federation (TFC).

Sixth World School Chess Championship: Seventh day report

Text and pictures by Anastasiya Karlovich

The 6th World School Chess Championship is still in progress! A total of 355 players and 506 participants are present in Kayseri (Turkey). In spite of the competitive spirit, the children have found new friends, and very often you see them talking, laughing and playing with each other before the start of the games. The fifth round determined leaders in some of the groups. Turkey is represented by 250 kids and therefore it is not a surprise that many Turkish players are among the leaders of the groups. During the rest day the participants could visit the old capital Karum Kanesh and a museum which was used as a hospital in XII century.

Girls from Sri Lanka. The little one, Asani Sankalpana, is six years old. Her friend Lithmi Mindula Abeykoon is 11. They are from the same Southland College Gallee. Asani scored seven points in nine games.

Aygyl Roziyeva, 15, from Turkmenistan, poses with Caka Olta from Albania. Aygul is very a friendly girl who also likes to take pictures. She is a champion among girls in Ashkhabad and bronze prize-winner among girls U-16 in her country.

More girls from Turkmenistan participating in the WSCC. FM Govher Jorayewa (2158) is a rating-favorite among girls U-17, but has only 4 out 8 points. Her friend Abadan Gurtgeldiyeva (right) plays under 15.

Players from the UAE in conversation before the game

Boys under 11 always have fun together before the games...

... exhanging secrets

which the girls also have plenty of.

Showing magic tricks before the start of a game

Mohamed Hassan is the head of the big delegation (more then 50 participants) from the UAE. They are playing in the World School Chess Championship for the first time and would like to come back again. Mr. Hassan thinks that this event is a very good experience for the pupils.

Prepared to do battle

Handshakes before the start of the game five

The leader of U-11 group, Sevgi Volkan from Turkey, with 4.5 out of 5 points. He is a bronze prize winner in European Youth U8 Championship and also finished in third place in the European School U11 Championship in Thessaloniki in 2010.

The proper fighting spirit

The game between the two rating favorites, FM Javakhadze Zurab from Georgia and
FM Firat Burak of Turkey, finished peacefully

The leader among girls U17, Emel Kaya, with 6.5 points from eight games.
She also showed good result in Angora tournament in February this year

The leader of U15 group, Nafis Talipov from Russia, with 5.5 out of 7. He was a champion of Republic of Tatarstan and was the silver prize-winner in the World Team Championship U14 as a member of Russian team in 2008. Besides chess he likes to play football, hockey and ping-pong.

Diyar Buyukasik from Turkey is on 11th place with 4.0 out of 7 in the U15 category.
He shared 1-2 places at the WSCC U13 in Thessaloniki (Greece) 2009.

Ramila Zamalova, 12 years old, from Kazan (Russia), has 5.5 out 7 (second place)

This young fellow has mastered the thinking pose of the chess master

Darshan Samir Shah from Kenya waiting for his opponent’s move. He is a champion
of Kenya U7 and is playing in the U7 category, with 2.5 points out of 7.

Ridit Nimdia from India is the world’s youngest rated player. At the age of four years 270 days he got his first official Elo rating: 1283. He started playing chess and reading when he was 3½ . Right now he is five years and eleven months, and was a participant of two national and school championships in India.

Dita Karenza from Indonesia. She is an Asean U10 Champion in 2010 among girls, with three gold medals – (in classic chess, rapid and blitz! Her grandfather taught her the rules when she was six. After seven rounds in Kayseri Dita has five points and shares the 2-4 places.

Emirhan Tarlabasi, Turkey, was the European School Champion U7 in 2010. He won eight games in nine rounds in Thessaloniki, after he lost to a mate in the first round when he had a big advantage. After seven rounds he shares 3-4 places with five points.

One of the arbiters, Sevan Muradian, waiting for the last game to finish

On the rest day the organizers arranged an excursion to Kârum Kaneš ("merchant-colony city of Kaneš"). It was a capital trading center of the Assyrian merchants in Anatoliya in the first quarter of the second millennium B.C.

The kids and their parents admire the ruins of Kârum Kaneš and listen to their guide

About the author Anastasiya (Nastja) Karlovich was Ukrainian champion and vice-champion among girls under 16, 18 and 20. She was European Champion with the Ukrainian team in the Youth Team Championships. She is also a candidate officer in the National Law Academy “Yaroslav the Wise”, a member of the chess club “Law Academy” a member of the German club Grosslehna one of the organisers of WGM and GM closed tournaments “Cup of Rector”. a Woman Grandmaster since 2003

Links Official tournament site (with schedules, pairings and results, standings, cross tables, games in PGN and Elo reports) To read, replay and analyse the PGN games we adivse you to download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light. This program also gives you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.