Laura Sherman sent me another of her articles:

One Child’s Chess Experience
By Laura Sherman

The room is silent. You can literally hear the people breathing around you while you study the sixty-four checkered squares in front of you. Glancing over at the chess clock you see you have plenty of time left in your game. A move cries out to be made, but you bide your time and check for others. You know that a move made in haste could cost your dearly. Finally, confident that your initial idea is sound, you reach out a hand and grasp your knight, hopping it to its intended destination. There is an audible gasp from a few behind you.

You hit your clock signaling your opponent’s turn. Only then do you steal a glance at him. He meets your eyes with a look that speaks defeat. You see that he knows it is just a matter of time. He shakes his head and stares at the hopeless position. You lean back in your chair and watch him study the board for possible flaws to your plan. There are none. It is hard to stifle the grin that threatens to spread across your face.

You glance around at your spectators. Some recognize your opponent’s fate, while others wear puzzled expressions. Two whisper to each other and finally nod their heads in understanding. One winks at you in admiration and turns to observe a game with a less determined outcome.

The fact that you are only ten years old, playing in an adult tournament, might have intimidated some, but not you. No, you know that your dedicated study and eagerness to learn the game has paid off. You continue to improve each time you play. Your teachers at school notice a difference, writing glowing praise home to your parents on a regular basis now. You know that you can do whatever you put your mind to do and it shows in various aspects of your life.

Your opponent shakes his head, stops the clock and reaches out his hand to you, signaling his resignation. You shake his hand, smile and offer to analyze the game with him, a ritual amongst players. He returns your smile and nods. You know he doesn't care about your age, because he knows your analysis will help him improve. How many activities are there where an adult would be eager to hear the thoughts of a child? As you set up in the next room to go over the game you notice other adults have followed. They too want to hear what you have to say. There is no better feeling.

Laura Sherman founded Your Chess Coach (www.YourChessCoach.com) with her husband, Dan Sherman. Together they teach children to play chess through various schools in Pinellas County, Florida, as well as privately in students’ homes and online.

These are great and inspirational, Laura. Keep them coming!

Well, I've been seeing the reports on the Corus Tournamnet finals but I've been very lazy in reporting (mostly because I think tournament reports can be boring before they're finished). But, I couldn't resist reporting on this one ... it's just too perfect. After talking about senior chess last week it only seems fair to give equal time to the youth of the chess world. After all, we're all awesome ... some of us wear plaid and others leather (myself, a polyblend and a bluejean material).

Chessdom reports:

Who is the world's youngest grandmaster? The correct answer, as of today, is Anish Giri, a Nepalese-Russian lad who lives in Holland. Anish completed his final GM norm on Saturday by beating GM Eduardo Iturrizaga of Venezuela. The lad is 14 years, 7 months and two days old – a pleasantly precocious, independent, quadrolingual lad.

It's official ... I'm not as active in chess as I should be. Talented youngsters make us all look a little to old. I'm 23 and I haven't quite made master yet. It's time to get back to work I guess ...

Check out the full pictorial Chessbase report!

The winners in each category are presented below: Open 18 - IM Ivan Saric (Croatia) 8/11 Girls 18 - WGM Valentina Golubenko (Croatia) 9/11 Open 16 - IM Adhiban (India) 9/11 Girls 16 - WFM Nazi Paikidze (Georgia) 9/11 Open 14 - Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (India) 9/11 Girl 14 - WIM Padmini Rout (India) 10/11 Open 12 - Sayantan Das (India) 9.5/11 Girl 12 - Zhai Mo (China) 8.5/11 Open 10 - Jan-Krysztof (Poland) 9.5/11 Girls 10 - Aleksandra Goryackina (Russia) 9/11 Open 8 - Tran Minh Thang (Vietnam) 10/11 Girl 8 - Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan) 10/11