Chess Youngster Tanraj Sohal Sweeps Canadian Chess Championship And Sets New Records

Hello chess friends, here's some cool update about a nice chess youngster from Canada. Indo-Canadian chess youngster Tanraj Sohal has won the 2014 Canadian Chess Championship held in Winnipeg, Manitoba on May 18-19 in his grade level, reports the Link.

Tanraj, a Grade 12 student, had earlier won the Fraser Valley Regional Chess Championship in Surrey in February, 2014 and BC Provincial Chess Championship held in Richmond, BC in March.

Tanraj is the current BC Chess Champion (Best chess player in BC regardless of age).

Tanraj, who started playing chess when he was in Grade 1, has won both the Fraser Valley Regional Chess Championships and BC Provincial Chess Championships in his grade level from Grades 1 to 12, a record 12 consecutive years.

He has represented BC at the Canadian Chess Challenge held across Canada from 2003 to 2014, a record 12 years in a row. He has won the Canadian Chess Challenge (National Championship) 9 times, setting a new record for the highest number of national championships won by any player in the history of this tournament.

Canadian Chess Challenge is the annual event where each province is represented by their 12 Provincial Champions (one player from Grades 1 to 12). Canadian Chess Challenge is organized and sponsored by the Chess’n Math Association, Canada’s National Scholastic Chess Organization.

Each player plays 9 round robin matches over two days in their respective grades against each of the provincial champions. Tanraj was recognized by the Chess’n Math Association with a special plaque presentation as the only player in the history of the tournament to represent his province at the Canadian Chess Challenge for 12 consecutive years.

Tanraj was also honoured to carry the Canadian flag during the opening ceremony of the Canadian Chess Challenge.

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Canadian Chess Champion Tanraj Sohal Dreams of GM Title En Route to Medical Degree

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

  

We found this nice chess profile in the Vancouver Sun. Tanraj Sohal has earned accolades in Canada by winning his eighth national chess title recently. Tanraj Sohal hopes to become a doctor but, first things first, he’d like to be a Grandmaster in chess. Sohal, a Grade 11 student at Fleetwood Park in Surrey, is well on his way to that goal. The 16-year-old just snagged his eighth national title at the Canadian Chess Challenge in Ottawa. The competition pits the best provincial school age players in two days of timed round robin play.

“The games were pretty quick,” said Sohal, who holds the title of national master. He said his second round, against a player from Ontario was the most intense. “No game is easy. If you lose one game, you know you are not going to come in first. You can’t make any mistakes.” Competing is a lot of pressure, said Sohal, but he loves the game.

Earlier, Sohal snagged the top title at the B.C. open, meaning he was the best player in the province of any age group. Sohal started playing in Grade 1, and found the endless puzzles and possibilities of the game kept him engaged and wanting to play more. “It’s creative. Your whole personality can be seen in your game. If you’re a risk-taker in life you’ll be a lot more attacking, more willing to weaken yourself for the chance to win. If you’re cautious, you’ll be more positional, not attacking but being careful and going after others’ weaknesses.”

Sohal describes himself as a combination of the two, with a “pretty universal style.” He admires Grandmaster and No. 1 ranked player Magnus Carlsen, a Norwegian that has been credited with bringing back the cachet chess hadn’t enjoyed since the 1970s, when American Grandmaster Bobby Fischer achieved celebrity status after routing Russian Boris Spassky.

Like anyone his age, Sohal loves computer games, but he’s more likely to spend hours a day playing chess online.

“Computers are changing the way people play chess,” said Sohal. “Before, people learned by studying books, but now with new computer programs you can analyze much more quickly.”

Computers also allow players like Sohal to play against other highly skilled players around the world in live games on the Internet, invaluable experience that would have been impossible for young players even a decade ago.

Sohal knows if he wants to become a Grandmaster, he’ll have to take time off school to devote himself full time to chess, but it’s a gambit he may be willing to take. “Becoming a Grandmaster is kind of like getting a PhD. Each title is like a degree.”

If he keeps advancing, and winning, in the chess world, medical school just might have to wait.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel