Stavroula Tsolakidou Girls U18 World chess champion

Stavroula Tsolakidou, the 16 year old Greek chess player has become the Girls Under 18 world champion in the Young Chess Tournament that was held in Khanty-Mansiysk in Russia. Stavroula earned 9 points in 11 matches and was crowned the winner in the world tournament.

From last year she had been declared world champion within 16 years olds but this year held on to a strong battlefield with older than her age chess players (18 years old) to become the leader in the Under 18 category.

“This tournament was very successful for me, I was really enjoying it very much. The last Round was like a miracle. My rival Alexandra Obolentseva had a superior tie-break, so I was very lucky today as I managed to win this Championship,” said Starvroula.

“I wanted to participate in U18 category as last year I was already a champion in U16 section so I decided to play with older girls this time. I did the same when I was 14 and chose to play in U16 section. I would like to be a professional chess player in the future. Of course I need to study as well and get some degree, but I want to spend most of my time playing chess”.

The President of Stavroula’s team, the Chess Club of Kavala, Vasilis Theodoridis added “Her distinction is unique. No athlete, ever before, has ever won three championships in a row at this young age.”

It is the most prestigious tournament for junior players in the world and this year the tournament saw a huge participation from across the globe- with 52 players from 37 countries participating.