Canadian WYCC Champion: Qiyu Zhou
Qiyu Zhou won the World Youth Chess Championship for girls U14 today in Durban, South Africa!
She scored 8.5 out of 11, going undefeated (+6 =5 -0). Her score tied her with Oliwia Kiolbasa (Poland), who drew with Qiyu in the 10th round, but Qiyu had better tie-breaks after leading the event since round 3.
Born in 2000, this is (incredibly) Qiyu's ninth World Youth Championship. She first played at the age of five in the U10 section while representing France.
Earlier this year she represented Canada at the Chess Olympiad in Tromso Norway against teams from 177 countries.
This is the fifth time a Canadian has won at the WYCC:
- In 2013 Harmony Zhu won the girls' Under 8 championship in Al Ain, UAE.
- In 2010 Jason Cao won the U10 championship in Halkidiki, Greece.
- In 1986, at the first ever WYCC, brother and sister Jeff Sarwer and Julia Sarwer both won the U10 (boys and girls) championship in Puerto Rico.
The WYCC is the first major chess event to be held in Africa, and attracted nearly 1000 players from around the world to compete in sections ranging from Under 8 to Under 18.
Links:
- 2014 WYCC U14g Final Crosstable
- Mini-Interview with Qiyu at 2014 WYCC before the tie-breaks were calculated (interview starts at 5:08).
- Photos of Canadians at the 2014 WYCC on the Team Facebook page
- Full Canadian Results from the 2014 WYCC
- Closing Ceremonies: awards presentations (U14g at 1:09)