ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship -- Opening Round!

The 2020 ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship will feature eight of the best ChessKids in the world. Many have FIDE or US Chess titles and some became masters even before the entered middle school!

The single-elimination one-on-one tournament will take place over three weekends in July, with the opening-round matchups happening Saturday and Sunday, July-12, 2020.

Each match will be two hours of 5+1 and 3+1 games. All of the action will be broadcast on Chess.com/TV with hosts FunMasterMike and his friends!

Here's the eight players, their seeds, and their qualifying rating (either FIDE rating or average of FIDE and US Chess ratings):

(1) FM Marco Materia, France (FIDE 2269)

(2) NM Ryo Chen, USA (FIDE 2085, US Chess 2216; average=2151)

(3) Tihon Chernyaev, Ukraine (FIDE 2147)

(4) CM Shreyas Royal, England (FIDE 2121)

(5) CM Brewington Hardaway, USA (FIDE 1907, US Chess 2234; average=2071)

(6) WCM Rachael Li, USA (FIDE 1939, US Chess 2190; average=2065)

(7) CM Santiago Lopez Rayo, Colombia (FIDE 1952)

(8) Tani Adewumi, USA (FIDE 1730, US Chess 2059; Average=1895)

Here's the schedule for the first round matches:

• Saturday, July 11 at 7am Pacific: Marco vs. Tani
• Saturday, July 11 at 10am Pacific: Shreyas vs. Brewington
• Sunday, July 12 at 7am Pacific: Tihon vs. Rachael
• Sunday, July 12 at 10am Pacific: Ryo vs. Santiago

The winners of the first round matches will earn $300 and advance to the semifinals the following weekend (exact times to be determined based on players' schedules). Those that lose in the opening round take $200. 

The total prize fund is $5000 and the winner not only receives the title of the inaugural champion of the event, but also lessons with a top-20 player. Full rules and prizes can be found here.