Congratulations to Emily, who won the ‘Top Under 12 Player Under 900′ at the US Girls’ National Chess Championship in Chicago. This was all the sweeter since she got trounced last year despite having won – with two schoolmates – the US Girls’ National Under 10 Team title in 2022.

At the other tournament, the US National High School Chess Championship in Baltimore, she played seven 3-hour games over 2.5 days against older ‘senior school’ opponents, where she won three of her matches. The unexpected surprise for Emily was being drawn to play on the board next to a former New York classmate, who had subsequently moved to California. Small world!

Upon arriving back in the UK, Emily learned that she has passed her Level 4 Institute of Chess Examination with a Merit from the Kent Junior Chess Association, and has been accepted into the intake for the final, Level 5 course next academic year.

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