Massachusetts girl, 9, becomes youngest US chess master

Carissa Yip, 9, considers her next move on the chessboard.
SUN/Julia Malakie [photo]
                                                                              By GRANT WELKER / The Sun

CHELMSFORD, Mass. (AP) — Only three years or so since first picking up the game of chess, 9-year-old Carissa Yip can already look down at 93 percent of the more than 51,000 players registered with the U.S. Chess Federation.

She has risen so far up the rankings that she has reached the expert level at a younger age than anyone since the chess federation began electronic record-keeping in 1991, a new level she reached in recent weeks.

Her father, Percy, who taught her until she began beating him within a year, said she could reach master level in as soon as a year.

‘‘Some never reach master level,’’ he said. ‘‘From expert to master, it’s a huge jump.’’...Continue reading...

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