Alberto Escobar, Leo Kowalski, Jing He and Chenjie Xu have been training since elementary school, but they never dreamed of playing a World Chess, even less before the age of twelve. The four members of the team El Altillo International School will travel this Wednesday the more than 7,000 kilometers that separate Jerez de la Frontera from the city of Aktau, in Kazakhstan. There they will participate, from August 3 to 8, in the first School World Championship. The tournament is divided into two categories, sub 12 and sub 18, which bring together 71 teams from 50 countries.
The players from El Altillo began by winning the Cádiz de Colegios championship in January. Then they went to the national tournament and finished runners-up in Spain, but the winners couldn’t go to Kazakhstan and the people from Cádiz decided to take advantage of this historic opportunity. “It’s been complete madness”confirms his teacher, Daniel Escobar, FIDE master, president of the Andalusian Federation Trainers Committee and founder of the Ajeduca project together with his brother David.
The expedition was scheduled to leave at 12 in the morning this Wednesday and the arrival is scheduled for 4 in the morning on Thursday. “It’s a laborious and expensive journey”confirms Escobar, “but the International Federation helps us with most of it thanks to the management of La Española. The rest has been paid for by La Andaluza, the Cadiz delegation, the Shahmat club, the school and the parents,” explains the monitor. by phone hours before leaving for Kazakhstan.
“We are very excited. It will be the first time they have participated in a World Cup and, although the trip is amazing, we will do everything possible to do the best you can“adds Escobar, cautious with the sporting options of his little chess players: “They stand out at the Cádiz and Andalusian level and make a good team. It’s hard to say if they have a chance, but looking at the list it seems like china and india are unreachableso I think the goal is to finish in the top 10 and hopefully get a medal.”
Will they become great teachers? “They look very good, but to be a GM you have to keep training a lot and have a great attitude. They are very young, 10 and 11 years old, and you never know, but yes I see qualities in all four“, replies the coach.