Flash Report: USA Finishes Third at FIDE World Cadet Championships

The USA delegation finished third overall out of 86 federations represented at the 2025 FIDE World Cadet Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

All photos courtesy US Chess

The six sections (Under-8, Under-10, and Under-12 Open and Girls) of the 11-round Swiss system tournament concluded Tuesday, September 30. Read more about the event, and results from the first-half, in our midway report. A final report will be available on Chess Life Online by the morning of Thursday, October 2.

Head of Delegation GM Melik Khachiyan with (from left) medalists Lacey Wang, Ethan Guo, and Laurie Qiu

Three Americans made individual podium finishes, with Lacey Wang and WFM Laurie Qiu finishing first and second, respectively, on tiebreaks in the Under-12 Girls section with 8½/11 scores. CM Ethan Guo finished third in the Under-12 Open section, also with 8½/11. Wang earned the direct WFM title and 74 rating points for her performance. A video of the awards ceremony is available on our X page.

Medalists Lacey Wang, Laurie Qiu, and Ethan Guo

Four other Americans finished just shy of the podium, but still in the top ten of their respective section, including WFM Sophie Li, who was a half-point behind Wang and Qiu in the Under-12 Girls, finishing tied for fourth (fifth on tiebreaks). Lev Shangin finished tied for ninth (10th on tiebreaks) in the Under-12 Open with 7½/11.

In the Under-10 Girls section, WCM Abigal Zhou finished in a tie for third place with 8½/11 thanks to her seven-game winning streak to end the event, but she finished fourth on tiebreaks.

In the Under-8 Girls section, Emily Tang was in contention for a medal for the entire event, but a last-round loss saw her finish fifth with 8/11. Finally, in the Under-8 Open, Mehmet Yilanli was likewise a fixture on the top boards for most of the event, but ultimately finished sixth with 8/11.

Photos from the event can be found on FIDE's Flickr page, and more content courtesy of the organizers is on Kazakhstan Chess Federation's Instagram page. As always, any photos of American players can be emailed to [email protected] for inclusion in future reporting.