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US BOY, 13, PLOTS WORLD CHESS DOMINATION
Agence France Presse
October 16, 2014 Thursday 5:31 AM GMT
WASHINGTON, Oct 16 2014
Samuel Sevian may only be 13, but the American chess prodigy is in
a hurry.
He wants to become the youngest Grandmaster in the history of the
United States. That honor currently goes to Ray Robson, who was
crowned two weeks before his 15th birthday.
Samuel will be 15 in December next year and is just 14 points from
becoming Grandmaster.
"I want to have this title," he tells AFP on the eve of a tournament
in Arlington, a suburb of Washington. And the longer he can hold the
title the better.
But once he has that in the bag, he will chase his next dream: to be
world champion.
If he sounds confident, he has good reason. In 2006, in his first
tournament, he became the youngest US Expert.
Then at nine years, 11 months and 23 days he broke another record
when he was crowned youngest American Master. And at 12 years and 10
months, the youngest US International Master.
The secret to his success? Practice. A lot of it.
He spends his mornings being schooled at home -- he said no school
would accept his tournament-dominated schedule -- and then plays
chess for up to six hours every afternoon.
Spending a single day without playing is unthinkable. And the thought
of losing a match?
"Losing is worse than dying," says the taciturn boy wonder, who moved
his first chess piece at age five with his father Armen and was once
a world champion in his age group.
"I fell in love with the game," he adds.
Now when father and son play chess together the pieces are arranged
to Armen's advantage, otherwise Samuel wins too easily.
- Playing blindfolded -
Armen Sevian, a scientist who was born and raised in Armenia and
later moved to the United States, is understandably proud -- but
also worried.
A chess Master himself in his youth -- before he decided to take up
"other interests" -- he is eager for his son not to become "a chess
freak."
"I've tried to steer him away to something else, pretty much anything
else," he says, explaining: "If you want to be at a high level,
you can't do anything else. It's hours of work and dedication."
But it is dedication that Samuel appears to relish, and his father
admits that his son showed remarkable talent at a young age.
"At age eight, he played five games blindfolded at the same time,"
he says.
"He won all of them."
Armen credits the Kasparov Chess Foundation -- legendary chess
champion Garry Kasparov helps train Samuel online -- for helping the
boy realize his dream.
"The Garry Kasparov foundation is the only help we get, for trainings.
It partially covers the expenses for the travels. It's a great help,"
he says.
International Master Greg Shahade admits the talent shown by youngsters
like Samuel is frightening.
"Children are soaking up and taking in information at a faster rate
than ever before," he says.
"There is information out there on the Internet that's fun and easy
to read. There are tactics trainer programs that the top children
are nearly obsessed with."
Samuel, unlike many of his opponents, does not memorize moves from
previous matches because it "is not necessary."
Instead, he closely studies key positions of the game -- opening,
middle and closing moves -- preferring a more tactical approach.
"You just have to remember the key positions, not the whole game,"
he said.
He painstakingly studies books and chess computer programs, and as well
as getting advice from Kasparov, and meets international Grandmaster
Alexander Chernin every two or three months.
Agence France Presse
October 16, 2014 Thursday 5:31 AM GMT
WASHINGTON, Oct 16 2014
Samuel Sevian may only be 13, but the American chess prodigy is in
a hurry.
He wants to become the youngest Grandmaster in the history of the
United States. That honor currently goes to Ray Robson, who was
crowned two weeks before his 15th birthday.
Samuel will be 15 in December next year and is just 14 points from
becoming Grandmaster.
"I want to have this title," he tells AFP on the eve of a tournament
in Arlington, a suburb of Washington. And the longer he can hold the
title the better.
But once he has that in the bag, he will chase his next dream: to be
world champion.
If he sounds confident, he has good reason. In 2006, in his first
tournament, he became the youngest US Expert.
Then at nine years, 11 months and 23 days he broke another record
when he was crowned youngest American Master. And at 12 years and 10
months, the youngest US International Master.
The secret to his success? Practice. A lot of it.
He spends his mornings being schooled at home -- he said no school
would accept his tournament-dominated schedule -- and then plays
chess for up to six hours every afternoon.
Spending a single day without playing is unthinkable. And the thought
of losing a match?
"Losing is worse than dying," says the taciturn boy wonder, who moved
his first chess piece at age five with his father Armen and was once
a world champion in his age group.
"I fell in love with the game," he adds.
Now when father and son play chess together the pieces are arranged
to Armen's advantage, otherwise Samuel wins too easily.
- Playing blindfolded -
Armen Sevian, a scientist who was born and raised in Armenia and
later moved to the United States, is understandably proud -- but
also worried.
A chess Master himself in his youth -- before he decided to take up
"other interests" -- he is eager for his son not to become "a chess
freak."
"I've tried to steer him away to something else, pretty much anything
else," he says, explaining: "If you want to be at a high level,
you can't do anything else. It's hours of work and dedication."
But it is dedication that Samuel appears to relish, and his father
admits that his son showed remarkable talent at a young age.
"At age eight, he played five games blindfolded at the same time,"
he says.
"He won all of them."
Armen credits the Kasparov Chess Foundation -- legendary chess
champion Garry Kasparov helps train Samuel online -- for helping the
boy realize his dream.
"The Garry Kasparov foundation is the only help we get, for trainings.
It partially covers the expenses for the travels. It's a great help,"
he says.
International Master Greg Shahade admits the talent shown by youngsters
like Samuel is frightening.
"Children are soaking up and taking in information at a faster rate
than ever before," he says.
"There is information out there on the Internet that's fun and easy
to read. There are tactics trainer programs that the top children
are nearly obsessed with."
Samuel, unlike many of his opponents, does not memorize moves from
previous matches because it "is not necessary."
Instead, he closely studies key positions of the game -- opening,
middle and closing moves -- preferring a more tactical approach.
"You just have to remember the key positions, not the whole game,"
he said.
He painstakingly studies books and chess computer programs, and as well
as getting advice from Kasparov, and meets international Grandmaster
Alexander Chernin every two or three months.