Unstoppable FM Yagiz Erdogmus Wins ChessKid YSCC
FM Yagiz Erdogmus of Turkey has won the 2022 ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship, overcoming the talented Argentinian CM Ilan Schnaider with a score of 10 to 4 in the final match. Both players advanced to the final after some thrilling runs, with Yagiz in particular putting in dominant performances throughout the tournament.
Yagiz scored 33.5-1.5 in all his matches prior to the final, and seemed unstoppable as he quickly established himself as the favorite to win the tournament. He even secured his IM title this summer in between the semifinals and the finals (it's pending FIDE approval)!
However, Ilan proved to be his toughest opposition yet, initially keeping pace with the champion for a 1.5-1.5 score early in the G5+1 section of the event. Yagiz was then able to pull ahead to a 5-2 lead in the final two games of the first section.
Moving into the G3+1 section of the match, Ilan kept pace through the first three games but suffered a loss in the fourth game of the section that he was never able to recover from. Yagiz finished strongly with a 10-4 score.
Looking for the video of the final? Watch it by clicking on this link!
FM Mike Klein (FunMasterMike) and WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili (HappyCrocodile) were on commentary duties for the final, and interviewed Yagiz with the help of Nigarhan Gurpinar (Naycir), chess streamer and Chess.com/ChessKid team member.
Having raised his rating by 100 Elo points (!) throughout the event, Yagiz is now an IM-elect (with a rating of 2460) and is the number 10 player in Turkey at the age of 11 years old. He also recently played at the Serbian Open, defeating three GMs along the way -- so watch out for more to come from this young Turkish talent!
Photo credit: Nigarhan Gurpinar.
The newly-crowned ChessKid YSCC champion said he plans to invest his prize money on his chess career, to help pay for the costs of attending more tournaments!
Prizes:
Yagiz won $1,000 in the final (total tournament winnings: $1800 plus a lesson with a GM).
Ilan won $500 in the final (total tournament winnings: $1300).
We hope you enjoyed the 2022 ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship!