Jennifer Yu (chess player)

Jennifer Yu (born February 1, 2002) is an American chess player. She was awarded the title Woman Grandmaster by FIDE in 2018. Yu is the 2019 U.S. women's champion.

Jennifer Yu
CountryUnited States
Born (2002-02-01) February 1, 2002
Ithaca, New York, US
TitleWoman Grandmaster (2018)
FIDE rating2328
Peak rating2379 (February 2018)
Jennifer Yu
Traditional Chinese于潤荷
Simplified Chinese于润荷[1]

Career

Born in Ithaca, New York,[2] Yu started playing chess in first grade, attending an after-school chess class. After the school finished its chess sessions, Yu wanted to continue her interest and asked her parents to find a coach.[3] She started playing in chess tournaments at the age of 7, in 2009. Yu's rating rose to 2100 by the end of 2013. In 2014, Yu competed at the World Youth Chess Championships in Durban, South Africa in the Girls U12 section and took the gold medal. She was the first female player to do so for the United States in 27 years.[4] Yu won the Virginia State Closed Championship in 2015, becoming the youngest player and first female to do so. She also won the National Girls Tournament of Champions three times, tying in 2014 and 2015, and winning outright in 2016.[5] Yu played on the US team at the Women's World Team Chess Championship in 2017[6] and at the Women's Chess Olympiad in 2018.[7] In the latter event Yu won an individual bronze medal playing board five.[8]

In 2019, Jennifer Yu won the U.S. Women's Chess Championship and therefore qualified to play in the Women's World Cup.[9] She won nine games out of eleven and drew two, with Annie Wang and Tatev Abrahamyan in rounds 5 and 9 respectively. Before round 10, Yu led by 2 points ahead of the rest of the field. Because of this, nobody else in the field would be able to catch up to her for first, except for Anna Zatonskih. In the penultimate round, Yu beat her, securing the champion title with a round to spare.[10] Yu also won the last game, finishing the tournament with a score of 10/11 points and a performance rating of 2678.[11][12]

References
  1. "成都小棋手与美国、加拿大华裔小棋手开展友谊赛". Chengdu Chess Institute (in Chinese). July 19, 2016.
  2. Title Applications. 2nd quarter Presidential Board Meeting 2018, July 8-11, Bucharest, ROU. FIDE.
  3. U.S. 2019 Chess Championships - Jennifer Yu. Saint Louis Chess Club.
  4. Jackman, Tom (October 12, 2014). "At 12, Ashburn's Jennifer Yu wins world chess title, first U.S. girl to do so in 27 years". Washington Post. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  5. "2019 US Women's Chess Champion: Jennifer Yu". US Chess. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  6. Foisor, Sabina (June 30, 2017). "Sabina Foisor on the Women's World Team". US Chess. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  7. "US Olympic Teams Set: "I Like Our Chances to Repeat"". US Chess. June 13, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  8. Shah, Sagar (October 8, 2018). "The closing ceremony that rocked Batumi". Chess News. ChessBase. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  9. Dana, Hedgpeth (April 12, 2019). "Va. girl is first teen to win U.S. Women's Chess Championship in nearly two decades". Washington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  10. Pereira, Antonio (March 31, 2019). "US Ch: Jennifer Yu takes the title with a round to spare". Chess News. ChessBase. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  11. Crowther, Mark (April 1, 2019). "The Week in Chess 1273: ch-USA 2019". The Week in Chess. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  12. "Results". U.S. Chess Champs. Saint Louis Chess Club. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
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