From April 30 to May 4, the Polish Under-8 Youth Cup in classical chess was held in Karpacz. The Polish Youth Cup has the status of the Polish Championships. The competition aims to select Poland’s best male and female chess players. In addition, the winners represent Poland at the World Junior Championships in their age group.
The leading young Polish chess players came to Karpacz. The competition was played over nine rounds. Several competitors were named among the favorites, including last year’s medalists at the Polish Under-7 Championships.
The first day of the competition brought no major surprises. The favorites won their games fairly quickly. The best faced one another on the second day. On May 1, the only player who had suffered no defeat was TOP Bolesławiec chess player Kacper Grela.
In the following days of competition, the young player from Bolesławiec confirmed his class. Kacper won his ninth and final game and, with a perfect score, became the winner of the competition. Thanks to his excellent result, our chess player earned the second chess category and is currently the only eight-year-old in Poland with such a high category.
Kacper’s dream now is to participate in the World Junior Championships in Vietnam in October 2008. Unfortunately, the nomination he won in Karpacz, talent and skills alone will not be enough to attend the championships. The main barrier is the very high cost of traveling to the competition. The club and the parents of the Bolesławiec chess prodigy will try to raise funds so that Kacper can represent Poland at the championships in Vietnam.
(information: Krzysztof Grela/GA)