The World Youth Chess Championships 2011 was an incredible experience! While the trip to Brazil had taken 40 hours and the 13-hour time difference had taken a while to overcome, it was definitely worth it to be in the warm, sunny Brazil to play chess!
I have to admit, I was rather apprehensive about playing in the World Youth Championships – I had been really busy with year 12 this year and thus, hadn't played chess since the Doeberl Cup in April. I was sure I would be very rusty, and sure enough, my first few games were rather shaky. However, I definitely felt as though I was playing better as the tournament progressed. My favourite game was against the Columbian Natalia Castro, as it was the most tactical and exciting of all my games. Another memorable game was my last round against Daiana Shangarayeva, where I was in a terrible position but managed to swindle a win to finish on 5/9 – a score I was very happy with! I must thank my coach for the tournament, Ian Rogers, who taught me so many new openings and helped me learn so much in the post-game analyses.
When I wasn't playing chess, I was usually hanging out at the many pools of the hotel (I counted seven). These had water that was pumped directly from the hot thermal springs, which meant that they were always warm, even late at night! With many other teams staying at our hotel, I was able to make a lot of international friends and we often relaxed together at the pools after long days of chess. I also went to the water theme park next to the hotel that had some amazing rides and a massive wave pool. This wave pool also doubled as a place to do Zumba, as Miranda Webb Liddle and I realized when 200 Brazilians around us started following an instructor and dancing! Surrounded by dancing Brazilians, we decided to join in! It was definitely one of the more bizarre things I did in Brazil.
Overall, WYCC 2011 was a fantastic tournament. While there certainly were hiccups along the way, with rather poor organization and only two people working at our hotel who spoke English, it was definitely a memorable trip. I met some amazing people, tried doing many things for the first time, and had a great time playing chess!!
*** Australian results may be seen here.
Full results and games from the World Youth Championships may be found here. ***