Kiddies and seniors get special treatment
CHILDREN and seniors have separate tournaments for themselves in almost every country in the world. It is the only sport I know where they are competitive to regular players.
The youngest player who is competitive at club level so far, is Sparsh Bisht from India. He learned the moves at three years and 10 months. Four months later, he played in tournaments against opponents twice his age.
The state level tournament that Sparsh played in Gurgaon, India in 2013 went remarkably well for him --he was second in the under-7 championship scoring 5/6. He then played in the nationals in Chennai and placed in the top 20 in the under-7.
Zoltan Sarosy (born Aug. 23, 1906) is the oldest chess player in the world and was born in Budapest. He won numerous tournaments in his native country before immigrating to Toronto in the early 1950s.
Although he is now 110 years old ,he is still playing chess mostly in the internet. Today, he lives in a seniors’ home and his mind is still sharp because of a lifetime of chess.
The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual tournament established in 1991. Originally, the age limit was 60 years for the men, and 50 for the women. Since 2014, the Senior Championship is split in two different age categories with consequently two male and two female titles: 50+ and 65+.
The men’s winners (both categories) are awarded the title of grandmaster if both are not yet a GM and the women’s win- ners (both categories) receive the woman grandmaster title if not yet a WGM.
The oldest World Senior Champion is the legendary Viktor Korchnoi, who passed away last year. He won the title at age of 75 years in 2006. This year’s edition was held the other week in Marianske Lazne (Marienbad), the Czech Republic from November 18 to Dec. 1.
KIDDIES FESTIVAL. Our favorite player and aspiring journalist Keith Claire Morala sent in her report .
“Out-of-town siblings, Aeron and Kirl Sinining copped the champions trophies in their respective categories at the Cepca Kiddies Chess Festival held over the weekend at Robinsons Galleria Cebu.
Aeron Sinining from Escalante Central School finished with a record of 5 wins and 2 draws in the Boys 15-Under category. Kirk Morala rebounded from a second round setback, and swept the last five games for a tie with Aeron for the first and 2nd places at six points points, but the Escalante Negros bet took the title with a superior tiebreak score.
Dwayne Borgonia took solo spot for the third place with 5.5 points, and Jeremy Pepito and Edel Vosotros also made the top five.
Also, Jerish Velarde swept all seven rounds of the Boys U10 and clinched the crown. Dwayne Abella came second at 5.5 points while Dwayne Panaganas, Art Solomon Villaran and Justin Luis Vosotros shared the third to fifth places with five points.
Kirl Sinining and Edelyn Vosotros likewise posted impressive perfect record in the Girls U15 and U10, respectively. Jeremy Rose Bajo, Adelyn Bensi, Marphine Faith Mangubat and Alleya Salinas rounded up the top 5 in Girls U15, while Charliz Cuambot, Nicole Mae Mangubat, Anne Paradela and Eva Joy Talidro completed the list for the Girls U10.
The chess tournament attracted 87 young participants. The champions each received a trophy, a chess clock and a chess set. The rest of the top 5 in each category also received a chess set eac
Meanwhile, Denster Abella scored 4.5 points to nab first place in the Cepca November/December Monthly tournament held simultaneously as the Kiddie tournament. KC Morala and Jojo Paredes tied for second. Ben Dimaano and Silverstein Torres qualified for the group A Grand Finals.”