Hannah makes perfect start to FIDE World School Chess Championship

National ladies national champion Hannah Wilson has made a perfect start to the FIDE World School Chess Championship in Panama.

Competing in the Girls’ Under-13 category, Wilson has reeled off five consecutive victories to emerge as the front-runner at the half-way stage of the competition.

Wilson, who is seeded at no. 6 among the 34 entrants in the section, scored her biggest win on Tuesday night when she defeated no. 3 seed Bello Montejo of Cuba.

After Wednesday’s rest day, the Queen’s College student will encounter another stern test in the sixth round when she comes up against top seed Omya Vidyarthi of the United States on Thursday.

Wilson, the only Barbadian at the championship, started the nine-round event last Saturday with victory over Rodriguez Herrera of Venezuela.

She defeated American Sadhana Arivoli in the second round on Sunday and sustained her winning ways in Monday’s double-header by overcoming Vera Guzman of Peru and Bayarsaikhan Khulan of Mongolia.

Wilson heads the table with a maximum five points, holding a one-point lead on five players – Khulan, Vidyarthi, Araya Mayorga of Costa Rica, Quispe Vizcarra of Peru and Gurvanbaatar Urangoo of Mongolia.

Following Thursday’s double-header, the event will conclude with the last two rounds on Friday and Saturday.

Wilson is going after another accolade at the international level after her success of last year when she won the gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Youth Festival and a silver at the Pan American Youth Festival.

She maintained her outstanding form by becoming the youngest Barbados ladies national champion at the age of 13 when she upstaged more seasoned opponents in this year’s Ladies National Championship in April.

The FIDE World School Chess Championship, is which being staged for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has attracted 489 players from more than 30 countries.  It is being contested in five age-groups – Under-17, Under-15, Under-13, Under-11 and Under-9. (BCF)