Youth Olympiad Kicks Off

USA-2 on left versus Singapore.  From front to back:
Chris Gu, Arthur Shen, Kevin Wang and Yian Liou.

The World Youth Chess Olympiad kicked off this week in Chongqing, China.  A total of 72 teams have entered the championship, representing mainland China and 25 other countries.  Ten American juniors made the trip, competing as two separate teams.

To date, three rounds are in the books.  The top teams will begin to clash in round 4 tonight, including the showdown between the #1 seed Russia and the home team and #4 seed China-1.  And our boys, #6 seed USA-2, face #3 seed Hungary.

Update on Wednesday morning: USA-2 drew Hungary 2:2 on the strength of a board 4 win by Christopher Gu.  The Americans are paired versus top rated Russia for round 5.  Watch it LIVE at 6pm PDT tonight! 

Update late on Wednesday evening: USA-2 lost a close fight to Russia by 1.5-2.5.  Next up is Indonesia at 12:30am PDT on Thursday early morning!  Then, after playing six rounds in four days, the players earned a rest day on Friday.

USA-2 at Opening Ceremony

USA-2 (Official Team)
(click for full results)

7th place with 9 MP, 17 GP

1. Defeated CQFLHY School (China) by 4-0
2. Defeated Singapore by 3.5-0.5
3. Defeated BJJM Club (China) by 3.5-0.5
4. Split with #3 seed Hungary 2:2
5. Lost to #1 seed Russia 1.5-2.5 
6. Defeated Indonesia by 2.5-1.5
7. Paired against Kazakhstan on Saturday
   

USA-1 (Extra Team)
(click for full results)

49th place with 5 MP, 11 GP

1. Defeated Hong Kong by 3-1
2. Defeated SouthAfrica-3 by 3-1
3. Lost to #2 seed India by 0-4
4. Lost to CDSD School (China) by 1.5-2.5
5. Split with QD School (China) 2:2
6. Lost to CQFLHY School (China) 1.5-2.5
7. Paired against Taiwan on Saturday

Photos courtesy of Chiiwen Liou.

Opening Ceremony

Young Dancers