The 2014 World Youth Chess Championship in Durban, South Africa finished on 28th September. Congratulations to Diana and Tom who both finished ahead of their starting rankings (+13 and +5 respectively) posting some excellent draws and wins against higher ranked players along the way. You can see the results or tournament details.
Tom O’Gorman sent the following:
I had a great time in South Africa playing in the World Youth Chess Championship U12. Diana Mirza and I represented Ireland. I finished on a score of 5½ out of 11 and (in U14G) Diana finished on 6½ out of 11. David Fitzsimons helped me prepare for my matches over Skype which was great. There were a lot of big delegations there and I really hope Ireland can send a good squad to the World Youth Championships in Greece next year. I had great fun and had an interesting experience.
Diana Mirza sent the following:
My experience at the World Youth Chess Championships was sensational! It was my 5th got to participate in. I'm so grateful for all the support I got from all my friends and family, I couldn't have done it without each and every one of them! On the first couple of days I was lucky to stay with some of my Romanian friends. My dad finally arrived on the 23 of September after coming from the European Club Championships.
Every day was exhausting especially the two days which had double rounds. I lost just two games, won 4 and drew 5 against very tough opponents, so I got a total of 6½ out of 11 which is my highest score so far in a WYCC. I came 16th and because of that I am now in the top 20 in the World at my category and to achieve that makes me so happy. My game play has gotten much stronger because of the Olympiad last month. I drew against the Polish girl, Oliwia Kiolbasa who got the silver medal, after being a pawn up for most of the game, sadly it was too little material to win. I played with only one lower rated opponent and two others who were unrated but other than that my opponents were 100 or more points higher than me. I have a good record against Russia in general and in this tournament I drew against Anastasia Kozina who came 8th while the number one seed at the start of the tournament (Polina Shuvalova) finished on the same points as me. In the last round I played against Mihaela Blazeka from Croatia which is ironic because in 2012 at the European Chess Championships in the Czech Republic I also played against her in the last round and I won both games.
On the free day I got to swim with exotic fish and go to a fascinating safari. I was so proud to have this opportunity to represent my country in something I love. I'm going to miss South Africa but at least I have wonderful memories to hold onto.