Young and talented chess players go head-to-head at Chicago's Harold Washington Library
Some talented chess players faced off Tuesday at Chicago's Harold Washington Library.
The chess players are seasoned competitors, and they're all still students in the Chicago Public Schools. Trophies and scholarship money were on the line at the Chicago Chess Foundation MVP Tournament.
Among the players competing was Nimalan Manmathasivaram, who is only 8 years old — but may already be the kind to table talk.
While competing Tuesday, he advised a fellow pint-sized opponent, "You could've traded rooks and won the game!" and said in a taunting tremolo, "Yippy, yippy, yippy, yay! I'm winning. I'm winning. I'm winning, winning, winning!" He also told an opponent, "I want to win all your moola!"
Just ask Nimalan's mother about her son's comments and occasional jeers.
"He's like a commentator — like running commentary," said Nimalan's mother, Jeyabretha Gurusamy. "Like, 'Oh, this move is going to do this.'"
Nimalan was one of about 130 kids from the Chicago Public Schools who went head-to-head Tuesday on the ninth floor of the Harold Washington Library.
"The more positive experiences that you can have around the chess board, the more likely you are to continue the game," said Sahil Tripurana, program manager for the Chicago Chess Foundation.
The high school kids in the competition compete for cash — scholarships up to $12,000 from the David R. MacDonald Foundation.
"Kids, no matter what age, as long as they feel comfortable and have fun, that's kind of like our main goal," said Tripurana.
One of the kids may even grow up to become a master. It's happened before. High school senior Avi Kaplan is one.
"So I'm considered a national master by the U.S. rating system, which I think is something only one percent of all chess players get," Kaplan said.
The 18-year-old chess master won the same tournament last year.
"Some of these kids, they're in first or second grade, and they're playing chess at a really high level," said Kaplan, "like better than I was."
Kaplan is the best in the room, at least for now. Nimalan may be there before we know it.
This was the 29th year of the MVP Chess tournament.
