FM Yagiz Erdogmus will face off against CM Ilan Schnaider in the upcoming 2022 ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Finals! Both players advanced after two excited match ups last week with Ilan pulling out a win against Megan Paragua while Yagiz continued his extraordinary run with a dominate performance against Hussain Besou.
After being knocked out last year in the semifinals, Ilan has made it to the finals but he has his work cut out for him. He'll have come out strong to break Yagiz's impressive 33.5-1.5 performance in the tournament so far. At stake will $1,000 (the first place prize in addition to winnings they have so far) and lessons with a super-GM.
Here is the bracket so far in the tournament and how each player got to the finals (You can also read about their opening-round results here)
Yagiz entered the semifinals with the after a big 17.5-.5 win and he kept that momentum going. Hussain was able to secure a draw in both the 5+1 and 3+1 sections but despite Hussain's best efforts, Yagiz was able to go undefeated in the semifinals with 15 wins and 2 draws.
FunMasterMike and WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili covering the first match
The second match between Ilan and Megan Paragua was closer contest. While both players started the 5+1 section fairly evenly matches, Ilan began to pull away around game six and Megan was unable to make up the difference. Once it got to the 3+1 section, Ilan really pulled ahead and ended up with a 9-4 result to take him into the finals.
FunMasterMike and WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili covering the second match
Both Yagiz and Ilan will face off later this summer for the $1,000 first place prize and the chance to be crowned the 2022 ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Champion! Be sure to check back for updates once the finals date is set!
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