Announcing The 2023 ChessKid All-Star Finals Winner

The 2023 ChessKid All-Star Finals event was a spectacular way to end the year! We couldn't have wished for more exciting action as some of the best and brightest young players on ChessKid went head-to-head to determine 2023's champion.

The sixteen players competing in the event were TopLumpyGator, HandDrew, BlueSweetTeam, AwesomeSarthak, ThinLateCatapult, RussellNBayAreaChess, OldBigLake, MadWealthyCow, LyingReply, PsychadelicKarate, Shrey07, MiniFestiveDay, and Halberd.

The winners of the 2023 ChessKid All-Star Finals.

In the end, it was the USA's BlueSweetTeam who triumphed with an incredibly close margin: he won on tiebreak points against fellow competitor Shrey07! It was an amazing performance by both, but there could only be one winner in the end.

It came down to a battle between the two frontrunners, who played each other in their final game. Shrey07 entered with a score of 4/5 and 11.5 tiebreak points, while BlueSweetTeam was a hair's breadth away with a score of 4/5 and 11 tiebreak points.

The full game between Shrey07 (White) and BlueSweetTeam (Black).
 

In the end, BlueSweetTeam managed to win the game with Black and ended up taking home the big prize.

Praising the talent of his opponent, our 2023 champion had the following to say:

"The hardest game was probably the last game, with Shrey07. He played really well, and it was a tough game."

Nerves, of course, were pumping through the bodies and brains of all the players. Did BlueSweetTeam feel a little bit of pressure? You bet!

"I was thinking about the game for the most part, but I also had a lot of nerves. I honestly didn’t think that I would be able to win the entire event If I didn’t win that round because my tiebreaks going into the game were a bit lower. I was also playing with Black, which gave me a slight disadvantage."

A screenshot of the 2023 ChessKid All-Stars Finalists in the decisive match of the tournament.

FunMasterMike and WFM Kinga Polak provided commentary and insight (and lots of arrows).

Our mighty winner will receive a game/coaching session with a chess grandmaster, who will undoubtedly add even more tactical vision and chess knowledge to this young star's arsenal! He'll also receive some very cool gear from the official ChessKid Shop to make sure everyone knows he's the champion.

Congratulations to all the ChessKids who made it to the 2023 All-Star Finals! We look forward to 2024, with a brand-new championship starting soon...