After only five years of playing the game, Leah Yang, an eighth grader from Jericho Middle School, earned second place in the Under 14 category in the All-Girls National Chess Championship.
The 20th annual championship, held in Chicago on the weekend of April 4, is just one of many victories Yang has accumulated over the years. This year, the eighth grader has been invited to compete internationally at the World Youth Chess Championship.
Leah began playing chess in 2020 in group classes, said Fiona Huang, Yang’s mother. She said that after her peers entered tournaments and competitions, Yang also decided to take that step.
Since then, Huang said Yang has maintained a “consistent training routine” working with private coaches and attending weekly group sessions.
Now, five years after her first chess lesson, Huang said Yang participates in chess tournaments almost every weekend. While many of these competitions are local, Yang also competes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut on long weekends and school breaks, she said.
“Leah was thrilled and proud of her second-place finish in Chicago,” Huang said.
Huang said it was Yang’s first time competing in that particular competition and looks forward to returning next year. Next year, she will compete in the Under 16 category and hopes to achieve an “even better result,” Huang said.
But Yang isn’t stopping at the national competition, Huang said. This year, she has been selected by the United States Chess Federation to compete at the international level.
“Notably, she has been officially invited to participate in the 2025 World Youth Chess Championship in Albania,” Huang said.
Yang was selected for the Girls Under 14 category and will compete at the global competition. This invitation is based on peak post-tournament rating and activity criteria in their age and gender categories, according to the chess federation’s website.
Until Yang sets off for the world championships later this year, she will continue to compete locally and hone her skills in preparation.
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