Americans Bring Home 29 Medals From 2025 North American Youth

Editor’s note: To the best of my knowledge, no games were broadcast for this tournament, and there are no official photos of the awards ceremony. Parents are encouraged to send photos of any medalists to Click here to show email address, and I will update this page accordingly.

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88 American players traveled to Kingston, Ontario, for the 2025 North American Youth Chess Championships, held August 17 through 23 at Queen’s University.

Across 12 sections, Americans brought home 29 medals, including 8 golds. Players competed in one of six age categories (Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, Under-16, and Under-18) in either an open or girls section.

These statistics do not include the blitz tournament, where American players swept the podium with a three-way tie for first. FM Stephen Willy, Santhosh Ayyappan, and FM Dylan Tang each finished with 8/9 scores, finishing first through third, respectively on tiebreaks.

Under-18

Jasmine Su won the Girls section with a tremendous 8½/9 score, earning a WIM title for her efforts. A regular participant in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and other national events, Su’s FIDE title has been long overdue.

In the Open, FM Aditeya Das and IM Evan Park won silver and bronze, respectively, for their 7/9 and 6½/9 performances. The direct IM title went to Canada’s CM Emanuel Kot, who gained 138 FIDE rating points for a 7½/9 result as the 12th-seeded player.

Under-16

In the Girls section, WFM Chloe Wang finished in clear second with 6½/9, and fellow American Aliana Fausto won bronze on tiebreaks with 6/9 ahead of WCM Kylie Zhang. Fausto’s FIDE rating is already over the 1800 threshold, meaning she earned the direct WCM title for her podium finish. While disappointing to miss out on a medal by tiebreaks, at least Zhang already had her WCM title!

No titles were awarded in the Open, as three American FMs swept the podium. But Julian Colville, who finished ahead of Stephen Willy on tiebreaks, did earn an IM norm to go along with his gold medal. Dylan Tang finished a half-point behind the co-winners with 7/9.

Under-14

In the Girls section, Lilliana Gao won the gold medal ahead of WCM Serena Yuan on tiebreaks after both players finished with 6½/9. Despite entering with a FIDE rating of 1654, Gao’s performance rating was over 1900, so she is well on track to reaching a 1900 FIDE rating and claiming her direct WFM title. WCM Anagha Aniket Sinkar won the bronze medal on tiebreaks ahead of three other players finishing with 6/9 scores (including Americans Michelle Zhang and WCM Arabella Fang).

Vihaan Jain won silver in the Open after tying for first with 7/9 despite entering the tournament seeded only 12th. His 2127 performance rating netted him enough rating points to cross the 2000 FIDE threshold required to claim his direct CM title.

Under-12

Alicia Zhu finished in outright second place in the Girls section with 6½/9, winning the silver medal and becoming eligible for the WCM title upon reaching an 1800 FIDE rating.

In the Open, an American podium sweep saw three players become eligible for future direct titles. Alex Haoning Chu won gold with 7½/9, and he will become an FM upon reaching a FIDE rating of 2100. Shawn Xu and Advik Prasanna tied for second with 7/9, winning silver and bronze, respectively, on tiebreaks. Both players will earn the CM title upon reaching FIDE ratings of at least 2000.

Under-10

WCM Abigail Zhou added another gold medal to her display case, winning the Girls section with 8/9, a point-and-a-half ahead of the field. Wan Qin Li (6½/9) and Aanya Parul Karthikeyan (6/9) rounded out the American podium sweep.

Under-10 Girls champion Abigail Zhou, pictured with IA Vadim Tsypin and Chief Arbiter IA Vladislav Rekhson (Photo courtesy of the subject)

Aanya Parul Karthikeyan finished third in the Under-10 Girls (Photo courtesy of the subject)

Sarah Nguyen and Anjana Thottimpudi tied for third with Aanya, finishing fourth and fifth respectively on tiebreaks, making it an entirely American top five. Li and Aanya will earn WCM titles upon reaching a rating of at least 1800 FIDE.

In the Open, WCM Stella Xin took gold on tiebreaks ahead of Lukas Lebakken after the two finished with 7½/9 scores. Both players will earn direct CM titles upon reaching ratings of at least 2000 FIDE.

Under-8

It was another podium sweep in the Girls section, with Emily Tang taking clear first with 8½/9, ahead of Winnie Tsuchida-Tomash (7½/9) and Elina Umi Khudyev (7/9). All three players will earn a direct WCM title upon reaching ratings of at least 1800 FIDE.

Devansh Vellanki tied for first with 8/9 in the Open, taking home the silver on tiebreaks. Francis Zhou took clear third with 7/9. Both players will earn direct CM titles upon reaching ratings of at least 2000 FIDE.