Young Chess Stars Train with Kasparov in Saint Louis

Like any complicated trade or skill, the growth and legacy of chess is built upon the great learned imparting their wisdom on the next generation of practitioners. To develop up-and-coming chess talents, former world champion GM Garry Kasparov, through his Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF), has partnered with the Saint Louis Chess Club (SLCC) for the tenth year to host its Young Stars – USA program.

The program, which began in 2012, was designed to help develop chess prodigies from across the United States. Participants receive coaching from KCF staff and individual sessions with Kasparov himself. Among the inaugural cohort were Awonder Liang (age 8), Jeffrey Xiong (age 11), and Sam Sevian (age 11) – all of whom are now grandmasters.

This year, on June 11-13, following the conclusion of the SLCC’s Spring Classic tournament, the Youth Stars – USA program convened with participants GM Jonas Bjerre, GM Abhimanyu Mishra, GM Christopher Yoo and WIM Alice Lee, who participated virtually. The average rating of the four phenoms comes in at 2497.

Kasparov Young Stars 2022, (back) FIDE Senior Trainer Michael Khodarkovsky, GM Jonas Bjerre, GM Garry Kasparov; (front) GM Christopher Yoo, GM Abhimanyu Mishra. Photo: SLCC

Over the weekend, the players got the opportunity to work with Kasparov and FIDE Senior Trainer Michael Khodarkovsky in intensive training sessions designed to test their limits and help them grow and expand their already powerful abilities. According to the KCF, “The training session was the usual combination of hectic and intense. Variations were thrown around so often it was important to pay attention and keep up and calculate in your mind!”

Young Stars 2022 training session with GM Garry Kasparov (at computer). Photo: KCF

The Young Stars Program has open admission and application for talented kids from all over the world. Candidates may apply to this elite program submitting the application found here: KCF Young Stars Application. The program is open for talented players that are nine (9) years old on Jan. 1, 2022, and no older than thirteen (13) on Jan. 1, 2022. Completed applications may be sent to Click here to show email address.

For more details about this year's Young Stars session, visit the Kasparov Chess Foundation site.