Americans Win 14 Medals at Pan-American Youth

The USA delegation boasted 14 podium finishes — including five gold medals — across 12 sections at the XXXV Pan-American Youth Chess Festival. Led by Head of Delegation WGM Kateřina Němcová, a total of 67 Americans competed in Lima, Peru, making up a twelfth of the 784 total players (representing 25 different federations).

Photo by Kateřina Němcová

With 28 points (three points per gold, two points each for four silver medals, and a point each for five bronze) USA won the team gold medal, ahead of Peru (16 points) and Colombia (6 points).

USA Delegation at awards ceremony — Head of Delegation Kateřina Němcová with the USA Delegation at the closing ceremony (Photos by Brian Yang)

Head of Delegation Kateřina Němcová with the USA Delegation at the closing ceremony (Photos by Brian Yang)

FM Tejas Rama won the Under-18 gold with 7½/9, netting the direct IM title in the process. Learn more about direct title qualifications here.

Tejas Rama earned the IM title for his gold medal in the Under-18 section (Photos courtesy of Krishna Rama)

Jasmine Su earned the direct WIM title with her 8/9 gold medal finish in the Under-18 Girls, a point-and-a-half ahead of Argentinian WFM Karen Nerina Gaite and American WFM Sophie Li, who finished second and third, respectively.

Jasmine Su (R) analyzes games in the skittles room between rounds

In the Under-16, Alex Zhang earned the direct CM title for his 7/9 finish, tying for second and earning the bronze medal on tiebreaks. CM Jashith Karthi won bronze in the Under-14, also tying for second with 7/9.

Hall — The playing hall and venue in Lima (Photos by Kateřina Němcová)

Venue — The playing hall and venue in Lima (Photos by Kateřina Němcová)

Vivan Prakash Mulay won the Under-12 gold with a blazing 8½/9, with six players tying for second with 7/9. The gold earns Mulay the direct FM title when his FIDE rating reaches 2100.

Miranda Meng took the bronze in the Under-12 Girls with 7/9, good for clear third and the direct WCM title when her FIDE rating reaches 1800.

Aayansh Guntaka’s 7½/9 earned a silver medal in the Under-10. Americans tied for first with 7½/9 in the Under-8, with Devansh Vellanki finishing ahead of Harrison Cai on tiebreaks. When their FIDE ratings reach 2000, each player will earn the direct CM title.

Podium for the Under-10 Girls Blitz, where Abigail Zhou earned a second gold medal (Photo by Brian Yang)

The Under-10 Girls section was an American podium sweep, with WCM Abigail Zhou earning clear first with 8/9 and Sarah Nguyen and Elizabeth Zhou earning silver and bronze, respectively, on tiebreaks for their 7/9 scores. Finally, Emily Tang’s 8/9 score in the Under-8 Girls earned her a silver medal. These players also all earned direct WCM titles once their FIDE ratings cross 1800.

In the blitz tournament, Americans replicated the podium statistics with another 14 medals, including another five golds: FM Shaaketh Sivakumar in the Under-18 Blitz, Audrey Li in the Under-14 Girls Blitz, Mulay in the Under-12 Blitz, Tommy Kozlek in the Under-10 Blitz, and Abigail Zhou in the Under-10 Girls Blitz.

The Under-12 Blitz podium, where Tommy Kozlek won gold (Photo by Brian Yang)

Updated August 7, 3:45 p.m.: This article originally omitted the results of the rapid tournament, where USA won an additional seven medals, including three golds: a hat trick for Mulay in the Under-12 Rapid, a second gold for Sivakumar in the Under-18 Rapid., and an 8½/9 finish for WFM Sophie Li in the Under-12 Girls Rapid.

More photos are available on the organizer's Facebook page.