Northern Va. girl wins global chess tournament

WASHINGTON (AP) — A 12-year-old northern Virginia girl crushed opponents from around the world to become the first American girl in 27 years to win the World Youth Chess Championship.

Jennifer Yu, who lives in Ashburn in Loudoun County, became the champion last month after going undefeated in 11 matches at the tournament, held in South Africa.

The Washington Post reports (http://wapo.st/ZWz211 ) that Jennifer spends at least an hour a day on chess and takes weekly instruction from a grandmaster.

Jennifer’s mother, Yan Zhang, says she and her husband began taking Jennifer to countless chess tournaments shortly after the family moved to northern Virginia from California three years ago.

Jennifer first qualified for the world championships when she was 10 in 2012, competing in Slovenia and finishing 11th out of 120.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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