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This article was originally published on stlpublicradio.org on February 27.
By Mike Wilmering
Carissa Yip, 10, has already felt the first pangs of heartbreak.
This past December at the World Youth Chess Championships in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, Carissa was one win away from securing a gold medal and a World Championship title. She was even closer than that, really.
Carissa achieved a winning position in her final game before the exhaustion of a long-tournament set in. Her position crumbled, and she had to offer her opponent a draw in the final round, which put her in a tie for second place. But when the oh-so cruel tiebreaks kicked in, Carissa finished out of medal contention in fourth place overall.
So, what’s a girl to do? Get back to work. And bring in some grandmaster support.
Carissa, a fifth-grader at McCarthy Middle School in Chelmsford, Mass., is one of 13 promising young players in St. Louis this week learning from a team of grandmaster instructors as part of the Schein-Friedman Scholastic Recognition Project. The event is being hosted at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis through Sunday.
Click here to visit stlpublicradio.org to read the full story!
