World Youth Chess Championship

For the similar tournament for players under age 20, see World Junior Chess Championship.
Valentina Golubenko and Ivan Šarić won Under-18 titles in 2008.

The World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. 12 World Champions are crowned every year, 10 of which are recognized by FIDE.

The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also for U18. The 1976 featured very young players such as Garry Kasparov and Julian Hodgson (12+) but also players slightly older than 18, but younger than 19 such as Louis Roos. It was recognized in 1977 by FIDE as the World Championship for Cadets for players under 17. In 1981 the age limit was reduced to under 16, applicable at the start of the year the championship is played in. It was also the year in which the first women's championship for U16 was played.

In 1979, International Year of the Child, the first edition of the World's Children's cup was played for U14. This cup had four editions, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984. In 1985 the U14 edition was included in the first edition of the World Youth Chess Festival for peace. Subsequently, the age categories U10, U12 and U18 were introduced. In 1987 the festival included the sections U10, U12, U14 and U18, while the U16 was held separately. In 1988, U16 was incorporated, but U18 was held separately. It was not until 1989 that the festival included all five age categories. Later, the U16 and U18 were sometimes played at separately from the U10, U12 and U14, as was the case in 1990, 1991, 1995 and 1997. In 1997 the name of tournament was changed to the World Youth Chess Championships. The under 8 category was first introduced in 2006.

Under-18 winners

Under-18

Year Location Boys Girls
1987  San Juan (Puerto Rico)  Gustavo Hernandez (Dominican Republic)  Hulda Figueroa (Puerto Rico)
1988  Aguadilla (Puerto Rico)  Michael Hennigan (England)  Amelia Hernández (Venezuela)
1989  Aguadilla (Puerto Rico)  Vladimir Akopian (Soviet Union)  Katrin Aladjova (Bulgaria)
1990  Singapore (Singapore)  Sergei Tiviakov (Soviet Union)  Elena Luminita Radu-Cosma (Romania)
1991  Guarapuava (Brazil)  Vladimir Kramnik (Soviet Union)  Natasa Strizak (Yugoslavia)
1992  Duisburg (Germany)  Konstantin Sakaev (Russia)  Ilaha Kadimova (Azerbaijan)
1993  Bratislava (Slovakia)  Zoltán Almási (Hungary)  Ilaha Kadimova (Azerbaijan)
1994  Szeged (Hungary)  Peter Svidler (Russia)  Inna Gaponenko (Ukraine)
1995  Guarapuava (Brazil)  Robert Kempiński (Poland)  Corina Peptan (Romania)
1996  Cala Galdana (Minorca)  Rafael Leitao (Brazil)  Marta Zielińska (Poland)
1997  Yerevan (Armenia)  Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine)  Rusudan Goletiani (Georgia)
1998  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Nicholas Pert (England)  Ruth Sheldon (England)
1999  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Dmitry Kokarev (Russia)  Ramaswamy Aarthie (India)
2000  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Francisco Vallejo Pons (Spain)  Zeinab Mamedyarova (Azerbaijan)
2001  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Dmitry Jakovenko (Russia)  Sopio Gvetadze (Georgia)
2002  Heraklio (Greece)  Ferenc Berkes (Hungary)  Elisabeth Paehtz (Germany)
2003  Halkidiki (Greece)  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)  Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia)
2004  Heraklio (Greece)  Radosław Wojtaszek (Poland)  Jolanta Zawadzka (Poland)
2005  Belfort (France)  Ildar Khairullin (Russia)  Maka Purtseladze (Georgia)
2006  Batumi (Georgia)  Arik Braun (Germany)  Dronavalli Harika (India)
2007  Kemer/Antalya (Turkey)  Ivan Popov (Russia)  Valentina Gunina (Russia)
2008  Vũng Tàu (Vietnam)  Ivan Šarić (Croatia)  Valentina Golubenko (Croatia)
2009  Antalya (Turkey)  Maxim Matlakov (Russia)  Olga Girya (Russia)
2010  Porto Carras (Greece)  Steven Zierk (USA)  Narmin Kazimova (Azerbaijan)
2011  Caldas Novas (Brazil)  Samvel Ter-Sahakyan (Armenia)  Meri Arabidze (Georgia)
2012  Maribor (Slovenia)  Dariusz Swiercz (Poland)  Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia)
2013  Al-Ain (UAE)  Pouya Idani (Iran)  Lidia Tomnikova (Russia)
2014  Durban (South Africa)  Olexandr Bortnyk (Ukraine)  Dinara Saduakassova (Kazakhstan)
2015  Porto Carras (Greece)  Masoud Mosadeghpour (Iran)  M. Mahalakshmi (India)
2016  Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia)

Cadets and Under-16 winners

Unofficial U18 Cadets

Year Location Boys
1974  Pont St. Maxence (France)  Jonathan Mestel (England)
1975  Creil (France)  David S. Goodman (England)
1976  Wattignies (France)  Nir Grinberg (Israel)

Official U17 Cadets

Year Location Boys
1977  Cagnes-sur-Mer (France)  Jon Arnason (Iceland)
1978  Sas van Gent (Netherlands)  Paul Motwani (Scotland)
1979  Belfort (France)  Marcelo Javier Tempone (Argentina)
1980  Le Havre (France)  Valery Salov (Soviet Union)

Under-16

Year Location Boys Girls
1981  Embalse, Córdoba (Argentina)(†)  Stuart Conquest (England)  Susan Polgar (Hungary)
1982  Guayaquil (Ecuador)  Evgeny Bareev (Soviet Union) not held
1983  Bucaramanga (Colombia)  Alexey Dreev (Soviet Union) not held
1984  Champigny-sur-Marne (France)  Alexey Dreev (Soviet Union)  Ildikó Mádl (Hungary)
1985  Petah Tikva (Israel)  Eduardo Rojas Sepulveda (Chile)  Mirjana Marić (Yugoslavia)
1986  Rio Gallegos (Argentina)  Vladimir Akopian (Soviet Union)  Katrin Aladjova (Bulgaria)
1987  Innsbruck (Austria)  Hannes Stefansson (Iceland)  Alisa Galliamova (Soviet Union)
1988  Timişoara (Romania)  Alexei Shirov (Soviet Union)  Alisa Galliamova (Soviet Union)
1989  Aguadilla (Puerto Rico)  Sergei Tiviakov (Soviet Union)  Krystyna Dąbrowska (Poland)
1990  Singapore (Singapore)  Konstantin Sakaev (Soviet Union)  Tea Lanchava (Soviet Union)
1991  Guarapuava (Brazil)  Dharshan Kumaran (England)  Nino Khurtsidze (Soviet Union)
1992  Duisburg (Germany)  Ronen Har-Zvi (Israel)  Almira Skripchenko (Moldova)
1993  Bratislava (Slovakia)  Dao Thien Hai (Vietnam)  Elina Danielian (Armenia)
1994  Szeged (Hungary)  Peter Leko (Hungary)  Natalia Zhukova (Ukraine)
1995  Guarapuava (Brazil)  Hrvoje Stević (Croatia)  Rusudan Goletiani (Georgia)
1996  Cala Galdana (Minorca)  Alik Gershon (Israel)  Anna Zozulia (Ukraine)
1997  Yerevan (Armenia)  Levente Vajda (Romania)  Xu Yuanyuan (China)
1998  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Ibraghim Khamrakulov (Uzbekistan)  Wang Yu (China)
1999  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Leonid Kritz (Germany)  Sopiko Khukhashvili (Georgia)
2000  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Zviad Izoria (Georgia)  Sopiko Khukhashvili (Georgia)
2001  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Konstantine Shanava (Georgia)  Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia)
2002  Heraklio (Greece)  Levan Pantsulaia (Georgia)  Tamara Chistiakova (Russia)
2003  Halkidiki (Greece)  Borki Predojević (Bosnia and Herzegovina)  Polina Malysheva (Russia)
2004  Heraklio (Greece)  Maxim Rodshtein (Israel)  Bela Khotenashvili (Georgia)
2005  Belfort (France)  Alex Lenderman (United States)  Anna Muzychuk (Slovenia)
2006  Batumi (Georgia)  Jacek Tomczak (Poland)  Sopiko Guramishvili (Georgia)
2007  Kemer/Antalya (Turkey)  Ioan-Cristian Chirila (Romania)  Keti Tsatsalashvili (Georgia)
2008  Vũng Tàu (Vietnam)  Baskaran Adhiban (India)  Nazi Paikidze (Georgia)
2009  Antalya (Turkey)  S.P. Sethuraman (India)  Deysi Cori (Peru)
2010  Porto Carras (Greece)  Kamil Dragun (Poland)  Nastassia Ziaziulkina (Belarus)
2011  Caldas Novas (Brazil)  Jorge Cori (Peru)  Nastassia Ziaziulkina (Belarus)
2012  Maribor (Slovenia)  Urii Eliseev (Russia)  Anna Styazhkina (Russia)
2013  Al-Ain (UAE)  Murali Karthikeyan (India)  Gu Tianlu (China)
2014  Durban (South Africa)  Alan Pichot (Argentina)  Laura Unuk (Slovenia)
2015  Porto Carras (Greece)  Roven Vogel (Germany)  Stavroula Tsolakidou (Greece)
2016  Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia)
(†) The girls tournament was held separately, in Westergate, England.

Under-14 winners

Boys

Year Location Boys
1979  Durango (Mexico)  Miroljub Lazic (Yugoslavia)
1980  Mazatlán (Mexico)  Julio Granda (Peru)
1981  Xalapa (Mexico)  Saeed Ahmed Saeed (United Arab Emirates)
1984  Lomas de Zamora (Argentina)  Lluís Comas Fabregó (Spain)

Boys & Girls

Year Location Boys Girls
1985  Lomas de Zamora (Argentina)  Ilya Gurevich (United States)  Sandra Villegas (Argentina)
1986  San Juan (Puerto Rico)  Joël Lautier (France)  Zsofia Polgar (Hungary)
1987  San Juan (Puerto Rico)  Miroslav Marković (Yugoslavia)  Cathy Haslinger (England)
1988  Timişoara (Romania)  Eran Liss (Israel)  Tea Lanchava (Soviet Union)
1989  Aguadilla (Puerto Rico)  Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)  Anna Segal (Soviet Union)
1990  Fond du Lac (United States)  Judit Polgár (Hungary)  Diana Darchia (Soviet Union)
1991  Warsaw (Poland)  Marcin Kamiński (Poland)  Corina Peptan (Romania)
1992  Duisburg (Germany)  Jurij Tihonov (Belarus)  Elina Danielian (Armenia)
1993  Bratislava (Slovakia)  Vladimir Malakhov (Russia)  Ruth Sheldon (England)
1994  Szeged (Hungary)  Alik Gershon (Israel)  Dorota Iwaniuk (Poland)
1995  São Lourenço (Brazil)  Valeriane Gaprindashvili (Georgia)  Xu Xuun Yuan (China)
1996  Cala Galdana (Minorca)  Gabriel Sargissian (Armenia)  Wang Yu (China)
1997  Cannes (France)  Sergey Grigoriants (Russia)  Ana Matnadze (Georgia)
1998  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Bu Xiangzhi (China)  Nadezhda Kosintseva (Russia)
1999  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Zahar Efimenko (Ukraine)  Zhao Xue (China)
2000  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Alexander Areshchenko (Ukraine)  Humpy Koneru (India)
2001  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Viktor Erdos (Hungary)  Salome Melia (Georgia)
2002  Heraklio (Greece)  Luka Lenič (Slovenia)  Laura Rogule (Latvia)
2003  Halkidiki (Greece)  Sergei Zhigalko (Belarus)  Valentina Gunina (Russia)
2004  Heraklio (Greece)  Ildar Khairullin (Russia)  Dronavalli Harika (India)
2005  Belfort (France)  Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam)  Elena Tairova (Russia)
2006  Batumi (Georgia)  Vasif Durarbayli (Azerbaijan)  Klaudia Kulon (Poland)
2007  Kemer/Antalya (Turkey)  Sanan Sjugirov (Russia)  Nazi Paikidze (Georgia)
2008  Vũng Tàu (Vietnam)  Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (India)  Padmini Rout (India)
2009  Antalya (Turkey)  Jorge Cori Tello (Perù)  Marsel Efroimski (Israel)
2010  Porto Carras (Greece)  Kanan Izzat (Azerbaijan)  Dinara Saduakassova (Kazakhstan)
2011  Caldas Novas (Brazil)  Kirill Alekseenko (Russia)  Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia)
2012  Maribor (Slovenia)  Kayden Troff (USA)  M. Mahalakshmi (India)
2013  Al-Ain (UAE)  Li Di (China)  Stavroula Tsolakidou (Greece)
2014  Durban (South Africa)  Liu Yan (China)  Zhou Qiyu (Canada)
2015  Porto Carras (Greece)  Shamsiddin Vokhidov (Uzbekistan)  R. Vaishali (India)
2016  Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia)

Under-12 winners

Year Location Boys Girls
1986  San Juan (Puerto Rico)  Dharshan Kumaran (England) ??
1987  San Juan (Puerto Rico)  Hedinn Steingrimsson (Iceland)  Yvonne Krawiec (United States)
1988  Timişoara (Romania)  Judit Polgár (Hungary)  Zhu Chen (China)
1989  Aguadilla (Puerto Rico)  Marcin Kamiński (Poland)  Diana Darchia (Soviet Union)
1990  Fond du Lac (United States)  Boris Avrukh (Soviet Union)  Corina Peptan (Romania)
1991  Warsaw (Poland)  Rafael Leitao (Brazil)  Dalia Blimke (Poland)
1992  Duisburg (Germany)  Giorgi Bakhtadze (Georgia)  Iweta Radziewicz (Poland)
1993  Bratislava (Slovakia)  Evgeny Shaposhnikov (Russia)  Eugenia Chasovnikova (Russia)
1994  Szeged (Hungary)  Levon Aronian (Armenia)  Nguyen Thi Dung (Vietnam)
1995  São Lourenço (Brazil)  Étienne Bacrot (France)  Viktorija Čmilytė (Lithuania)
1996  Cala Galdana (Minorca)  Kamil Mitoń (Poland)  Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia)
1997  Cannes (France)  Alexander Riazantsev (Russia)  Zhao Xue (China)
1998  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan)  Humpy Koneru (India)
1999  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Wang Yue (China)  Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia)
2000  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Deep Sengupta (India)  Atousa Pourkashiyan (Iran)
2001  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine)  Shen Yang (China)
2002  Heraklio (Greece)  Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)  Tan Zhongyi (China)
2003  Halkidiki (Greece)  Wei Chenpeng (China)  Ding Yixin (China)
2004  Heraklio (Greece)  Zhao Nan (China)  Klaudia Kulon (Poland)
2005  Belfort (France)  Srinath Narayanan (India)  Meri Arabidze (Georgia)
2006  Batumi (Georgia)  Robert Aghasaryan (Armenia)  Mariam Danelia (Georgia)
2007  Kemer/Antalya (Turkey)  Daniel Naroditsky (United States)  Marsel Efroimski (Israel)
2008  Vũng Tàu (Vietnam)  Sayantan Das (India)  Zhai Mo (China)
2009  Antalya (Turkey)  Bobby Cheng (Australia)  Sara Khadem (Iran)
2010  Porto Carras (Greece)  Wei Yi (China)  Iulija Osmak (Ukraine)
2011  Caldas Novas (Brazil)  Karthikeyan Murali (India)  Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan)
2012  Maribor (Slovenia)  Samuel Sevian (USA)  Vaishali R (India)
2013  Al-Ain (UAE)  Aram Hakobyan (Armenia)  Zhao Shengxin (China)
2014  Durban (South Africa)  Nguyen Anh Khoi (Vietnam)  Jennifer R Yu (United States)
2015  Porto Carras (Greece)  Mahammad Muradli (Azerbaijan)  Nurgyul Salimova (Bulgaria)
2016  Batumi (Georgia)

Under-10 winners

Year Location Boys Girls
1986  San Juan (Puerto Rico)  Jeff Sarwer (Canada)  Julia Sarwer (Canada)
1987  San Juan (Puerto Rico)  John Viloria (United States)  Susan Urminska (United States)
1988  Timişoara (Romania)  Horge Hasbun (Honduras)
 John Viloria (United States) 		 Corina Peptan (Romania)
1989  Aguadilla (Puerto Rico)  Irwin Irnandi (Indonesia)  Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria)
1990  Fond du Lac (United States)  Nawrose Farh Nur (United States)  Evelyn Moncayo Romero (Ecuador)
1991  Warsaw (Poland)  Adrien Leroy (France)  Carmen Voicu (Romania)
1992  Duisburg (Germany)  Luke McShane (England)  Parvana Ismaïlova (Azerbaijan)
1993  Bratislava (Slovakia)  Étienne Bacrot (France)  Ana Matnadze (Georgia)
1994  Szeged (Hungary)  Sergey Grishchenko (Russia)  Svetlana Cherednichenko (Ukraine)
1995  São Lourenço (Brazil)  Boris Grachev (Russia)  Alina Motoc (Romania)
1996  Cala Galdana (Minorca)  Pendyala Harikrishna (India)  Maria Kursova (Russia)
1997  Cannes (France)  Javad Alavi (Iran)  Humpy Koneru (India)
1998  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Evgeny Romanov (Russia)  Vera Nebolsina (Russia)
1999  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Dmitry Andreikin (Russia)  Kateryna Lahno (Ukraine)
2000  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Vietnam)  Tan Zhongyi (China)
2001  Oropesa del Mar (Spain)  Tamas Fodor (Hungary)  Tan Zhongyi (China)
2002  Heraklio (Greece)  Eltaj Safarli (Azerbaijan)  Lara Stock (Croatia)
2003  Halkidiki (Greece)  Sanan Sjugirov (Russia)  Hou Yifan (China)
2004  Heraklio (Greece)  Yu Yangyi (China)  Meri Arabidze (Georgia)
2005  Belfort (France)  Sahaj Grover (India)  Wang Jue (China)
2006  Batumi (Georgia)  Koushik Girish (India)  Choletti Sahajasri (India)
2007  Kemer/Antalya (Turkey)  Wang Tong Sen (China)  Anna Styazhkina (Russia)
2008  Vũng Tàu (Vietnam)  Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland)  Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia)
2009  Antalya (Turkey)  Bai Jinshi (China)  Gunay Mammadzada (Azerbaijan)
2010  Porto Carras (Greece)  Jason Cao (Canada)  Nomin-Erdene Davaademberel (Mongolia)
2011  Caldas Novas (Brazil)  Zhu Yi (China)  Alexandra Obolentseva (Russia)
2012  Maribor (Slovenia)  Nguyen Anh Khoi (Vietnam)  Priyanka N (India)
2013  Al-Ain (UAE)  Awonder Liang (USA)  Saina Salonika (India)
2014  Durban (South Africa)  Nihal Sarin (India)  Divya Deshmukh (India)
2015  Porto Carras (Greece)  Praggnanandhaa R (India)  Ravi Rakshitta  (India)
2016  Batumi (Georgia)

Under-8 winners

Year Location Boys Girls
2006  Batumi (Georgia)  Chennamsetti Mohineesh (India)  Ivana Maria Furtado (India)
2007  Kemer/Antalya (Turkey)  Konstantin Savenkov (Russia)  Ivana Maria Furtado (India)
2008  Vũng Tàu (Vietnam)  Tran Minh Thang (Vietnam)  Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan)
2009  Antalya (Turkey)  Arian Gholami (Iran)  Chu Ruotong (China)
2010  Porto Carras (Greece)  Abdulla Gadimbayli (Azerbaijan)  Li Yunshan (China)
2011  Caldas Novas (Brazil)  Awonder Liang (USA)  Bibissara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan)
2012  Maribor (Slovenia)  Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan)  Motahare Asadi (Iran)
2013  Al-Ain (UAE)  Praggnanandhaa R (India)  Harmony Zhu (Canada)
2014  Durban (South Africa)  Ilya Makoveev (Russia)  Davaakhuu Munkhzul  (Mongolia)
2015  Porto Carras (Greece)  Bharath Subramaniyam H (India)  Nguyen Le Cam Hien (Vietnam)
2016  Batumi (Georgia)

Notes

The main source of reference is indicated beneath each year's entry.

1974 – Pont-Sainte-Maxence, France, 2–13 July – The first World Cadet Championship was an Under-18 event, organised by the French chess authorities. Thirty players took part in an 11 round Swiss. Englishman Jonathan Mestel won by a one-and-a-half point margin, scoring +8−0=3. The silver and bronze medals went to Evgeny Vladimirov and Oskar Orel, respectively. Also competing were the Canadian Jean Hebert and the Lebanese Bachar Kouatly.

Boys U-18 – 1. Jonathan Mestel (ENG) 2. Evgeny Vladimirov (USSR) 3. Oskar Orel (YUG)
--- The Batsford Chess Yearbook, Kevin J O'Connell (ed.) (1975, Batsford) p. 128

1975 – Creil, France, 1–12 July – The second World Cadets was once again a French organised Under-18 event, comprising twenty-five players in an 11 round Swiss. David Goodman of England won the gold medal (8½/11), with silver going to Terence Wong of Singapore (8/11) and bronze to Predrag Nikolić of Yugoslavia (7/11). Also with 7 points was Australia's Ian Rogers, taking a share of third place. The West German Eric Lobron and Lebanese Bachar Kouatly were two future grandmasters who also took part.

Boys U-18 – 1. David Goodman (ENG) 2. Terence Wong (SIN) 3. Predrag Nikolić (YUG)
--- The Batsford Chess Yearbook 1975/76, Kevin J O'Connell (ed.) (1976, Batsford) p. 73

1978 – Sas-van-Gent, Netherlands, December 1978 – January 1979 – The World Cadets tournament was held over the New Year. Scotland gained its first ever world champion in chess, Paul Motwani from the city of Dundee. Following closely were England's Nigel Short, aged only 13, and Jose Huergo of Cuba, who required a tie-break to separate them. Other well known players in the pack included Ivan Morovic of Chile and Jóhann Hjartarson of Iceland.

Boys U-17 – 1. Paul Motwani (SCO) 2. Jose Huergo (CUB) 3. Nigel Short (ENG)
--- CHESS magazine Vol 44. March p. 191

1979 – Belfort, France – (July) – For a second successive year, England's Nigel Short (age 14) narrowly failed to take the World Cadets title, after losing out to his Argentine rival, Marcelo Tempone on the sum of opponent's scores rule (a method of tie-break). Third place was taken by Ivan Morovic and further down the field were future grandmasters Gilberto Milos, Joel Benjamin, Jan Ehlvest, Alon Greenfeld and Jóhann Hjartarson.

Boys U-17 – 1. Marcelo Tempone (ARG) 2. Nigel Short (ENG) 3. Ivan Morovic (CHI)
--- CHESS magazine Vol 44. October p. 368

1980 – Le Havre, France – (? – ?) – The World Cadet Championship (for players under 17 on 1 September 1980) was played alongside the familiar Le Havre Open chess tournament. A total of fifty-one 'cadets' represented forty-nine different countries. France fielded three players, two by right and a third when immigration officials mysteriously refused entry to the Pakistan entrant. The winner, Valery Salov, displayed the usual Soviet formula of good preparation and technique, with strategically planned draws against his nearest rivals, Alon Greenfeld and Joel Benjamin. Greenfeld might have tied first, but lost his crucial last round game with Benjamin, despite having the white pieces. Some of the players and their seconds were unhappy about the conditions, particularly the dormitory-style accommodation and food quality. Many also felt that the Brazilian, Gilberto Milos, was unfairly treated when his twice adjourned game was concluded on the free day without prior warning. He was awoken at 9.10 am and told that his clock had been started. Understandably upset, he played and lost, his follow-up protest falling on deaf ears. The list of entries also contained future grandmasters Suat Atalık and Dibyendu Barua, among others. Final result;

Boys U-17 – 1. Valery Salov (USSR) 2. Alon Greenfeld (ISR) 3. Joel Benjamin (USA)
--- CHESS magazine Vol 45. Aug–Sept p. 237

1989 – Aguadilla, Puerto Rico – (28 July – 9 August) – There were 54 countries and 281 juniors participating. Living conditions were quite stretched as the organisers were not expecting the players to be accompanied by more than 200 adults. Regrettably, there was a shortage of competent decision-making organisers, but a friendly, good humoured atmosphere prevailed and the problems were resolved amicably. A variety of tie-breaking systems were used to separate the final places. In the case of the Boys Under-10 category, the resulting split was particularly harsh on the Brazilian Rafael Leitao, who was deprived of a gold medal on the basis of 'strength of first round opponent'. Antoaneta Stefanova, the winner of the girls Under-10 event, was already being talked about as a future women's world champion. IM Bob Wade attended the event and felt that the most successful countries were those that prepared their competitors best in terms of 'basic' rather than 'opening' training. Among the lesser medals were; Alex Sherzer (silver, U-18), Christopher Lutz (bronze, U-18), Matthew Sadler (silver, U-16), Vladimir Kramnik (silver, U-14), Peter Leko (bronze, U-10). In the girls events, Tea Lanchava took silver in the U-16 and Corina Peptan, bronze in the U-12. The gold medals went to;

Boys U-10 – Irwin Irnandi (INA); Boys U-12 – Marcin Kaminsky (POL); Boys U-14 – Veselin Topalov (BUL); Boys U-16 – Sergei Tiviakov (USSR); Boys U-18 – Vladimir Akopian (USSR).
Girls U-10 – Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL); Girls U-12 – Diana Darchia (USSR); Girls U-14 – Anna Segal (USSR); Girls U-16 – Krystina Dabrowska (POL); Girls U-18 – Katrin Aladyova (BUL).
--- CHESS magazine Vol 54. November pp. 26–27

1990 – Fond du Lac, USA – (14 – 22 July) – Wisconsin's Marian College hosted the 5th World Youth Festival, which attracted 170 players from 44 nations. With federation officials and parental entourages, this number swelled to more than 300. It was the first time that the USA had hosted a chess event of this size and importance and the accommodation and conditions received high praise from the competitors. Judit Polgár celebrated victory on her fourteenth birthday (23 July), by taking the gold medal in the Boys U-14 event. This was the second occasion on which she had successfully competed in the Boys category. Her father, Laszlo Polgar, pointed out that Judit's last three 'world' competitions, including the Thessaloniki Olympiad, had resulted in a score of +26 =9 -0. Vasily Emelin of the USSR and Gabriel Schwartzman of Romania finished in silver and bronze medal places. Russia's Diana Darchia won the corresponding Girls' U-14 event from the USSR's Inna Gaponenko and Hungarian Monika Grabics. In the Boys U-12, Boris Avrukh outdistanced second placed John Viloria and third placed Peter Leko. Corina Peptan was triumphant in the Girls U-12, ahead of Monika Bobrowska and Nikoletta Lakos. In the Boys U-10, Nawrose Nur won by a good margin from the Romanian Alin Berescu and Adrien Leroy of France. Ecuador's Evelyn Moncayo took gold in the Girls U-10, while Claudia Bilciu of Romania and Jovanka Houska of England took silver and bronze, respectively. New In Chess Best Game awards were chaired by Arnold Denker and won by Judit Polgár, Yvonne Krawiec, Tal Shaked, Corina Peptan, Francisco Vallejo Pons and Claudia Bilciu. Polgar made it a clean sweep by winning an Under-14 Blitz tournament from Vasily Emelin and Ronan Har-Zvi of Israel.

Boys U-10 – Nawrose Nur (USA); Boys U-12 – Boris Avrukh (URS); Boys U-14 – Judit Polgár (HUN).
Girls U-10 – Evelyn Moncayo (ECU); Girls U-12 – Corina Peptan (ROM); Girls U-14 – Diana Darchia (URS).
--- CHESS magazine Vol 55. October p. 5 and November p. 26

1992 – Duisburg, Germany – (29 June – 13 July) – The venue, a large sports complex, was playing host to over 500 competitors engaged in 10 World Junior Championships. There were initially some problems with overcrowding, but these were quickly sorted out by the organisers. There was a commentary room where those who had finished their games could benefit from the expert opinion of Grandmaster Helmut Pfleger. TV screens were displayed throughout the venue to cover the positions on the top boards. Peter Leko of Hungary, the world's youngest IM at the time, played in the U-14 event and was expected to win with an enormous Elo rating advantage over his closest rival.. However, his opponents had not read the script and he finished a disappointing fourth. There was a shock too in the Girls' U-14 section, when the Romanian Corina Peptan, top seed and national champion at 14, only managed to secure the silver medal. In contrast, the U-18 events went according to expectation with Sakaev (in the Boys/Open) and Kadimova (in the Girls) totally dominant. There was a good showing from the English contingent; by comparison other western European nations failed miserably. McShane won the Boys/Open U-10 event, despite being the youngest competitor at 8. Ruth Sheldon took silver in the U-12 Girls and Harriet Hunt a bronze in the U-14 Girls, even though she was heavily outrated. Gold medal winners were as follows:

Boys U-10 – Luke McShane (ENG); Boys U-12 – Georgi Bakhtadze (GEO); Boys U-14 – Yuri Tihonov (BLR); Boys U-16 – Ronen Har-Zvi (ISR); Boys U-18 – Konstantin Sakaev (RUS).
Girls U-10 – Parvana Ismajlova (AZE); Girls U-12 – Iweta Radziewicz (POL); Girls U-14 – Elina Danielian (ARM); Girls U-16 – Almira Skripchenko (MDA); Girls U-18 – Ilaha Kadimova (AZE).
--- CHESS magazine Vol 57. September pp. 20–22

1993 – Bratislava, Slovakia – (17 – 29 July) – Held at the Park of Culture and Leisure, the Slovakian Federation played host to a record number of participants from a staggering 78 nations. Unfortunately the tournament got off to a bad start, before even a game had been played. The organisers had implemented an arduous registration process, designed to catch late registrants and penalise them or their federation with a $100 U.S. late entry fee. It appeared to be a cynical attempt at earning the organising committee a tidy sum. There were a number of protests; some paid up and others refused. Before things turned too nasty, Florencio Campomanes stepped in and ordered a reduction in the fee, which helped patch things up. However, the French were so upset that they decided to boycott the opening celebrations. Attending the closing ceremony was former World Champion Anatoly Karpov, the guest of honour replacing Campomanes on his departure. The contest contained a few surprises; Malakhov edged out Peter Leko in the Boys U-14 and a similar fate awaited the rapidly improving Vallejo Pons in the Boys U-12. Winners of the various age categories were as follows:

Boys U-10 – Étienne Bacrot (FRA); Boys U-12 – Evgeny Shaposhnikov (RUS); Boys U-14 – Volodia Malakhov (RUS); Boys U-16 – Dao Thien Hai (VIE); Boys U-18 – Zoltán Almási (HUN).
Girls U-10 – Ana Matnadze (GEO); Girls U-12 – Evzhenia Chasovnikova (RUS); Girls U-14 – Ruth Sheldon (ENG); Girls U-16 – Elina Danielian (ARM); Girls U-18 – Ilaha Kadimova (AZE).
--- CHESS magazine Vol 58. October pp. 16–18

1994 – Szeged, Hungary – (August) – Peter Leko finally got his gold medal, this time in the U-16 Boys event. Bearing in mind his past disappointments, it is worth noting that other high profile players missed gold medals at this event, including 2 future World Champions. In retrospect, this underlines the strength of the event. Among those taking home silver medals, were Alexandra Kosteniuk (U-10 Girls), Étienne Bacrot (U-12 Boys) and Rustam Kasimdzhanov (U-16 Boys). There was an impressive showing from the Ukrainian Girls Squad, taking 3 of the 5 gold medals on offer. The list of winners comprised:

Boys U-10 – Sergei Grishchenko (RUS); Boys U-12 – Levon Aronian (ARM); Boys U-14 – Alik Gershon (ISR); Boys U-16 – Peter Leko (HUN); Boys U-18 – Peter Svidler (RUS).
Girls U-10 – Svetlana Cherednichenko (UKR); Girls U-12 – Nguyen Thi Dung (VIE); Girls U-14 – Dorote Ivaniuk (POL); Girls U-16 – Natalia Zhukova (UKR); Girls U-18 – Inna Gaponenko (UKR).
--- CHESS magazine Vol 59. January p. 48

1998 – Oropesa del Mar, Spain – (October – November) – The Marina d'Or venue played host to over 1000 players from 48 countries. Russia's bright prospect Alexander Grischuk, already an International Master with a near Grandmaster rating, was (at 15 years) participating in the U-18 category. England turned up with a strong looking squad and performed even above their own expectations, landing two gold medals. Russia's Kosintseva sisters did enough to suggest they might become a powerful force in Ladies chess for years to come; Nadezhda took gold in the U-14 and Tatiana took silver in the U-12. The Boys / Open U-14 category comprised an unusually strong list of entrants, with David Navara and Zahar Efimenko taking silver and bronze respectively. The winners of each event were as follows:

Boys U-10 – Evgeny Romanov (RUS); Boys U-12 – Teimour Radjabov (AZE); Boys U-14 – Bu Xiangzhi (CHN); Boys U-16 – Ibragim Khamrakulov (UZB); Boys U-18 – Nicholas Pert (ENG).
Girls U-10 – Vera Nebolsina (RUS); Girls U-12 – Humpy Koneru (IND); Girls U-14 – Nadezhda Kosintseva (RUS); Girls U-16 – Wang Yu (CHN); Girls U-18 – Ruth Sheldon (ENG).
--- CHESS magazine Vol 63. December pp. 37–40

See also

External links

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