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Hi everyone, 

It's always fun to read about a children's chess tournament. Here is a nice feature by Shannon Holloway in the Bayside Bulletin:  

At just 14, Capalaba State College Year 10 student Austen Angel is ready to checkmate anyone after forcing Redlands chess master Andrew Fitzpatrick to forfeit during a recent game. Austen was one of 16 students to face off against Mr Fitzpatrick simultaneously during the school's yearly chess competition. Mr Fitzpatrick beat 15 students until he was left to face Austen.

"I played a pretty defensive game from the beginning because I hadn't actually touched a chess board in over six months," Austen said. "We ended up playing against each other for more than 15 minutes, which got a bit serious, everyone ended up crowding around. "Finally I was in the better position and he ended up forfeiting."

Also Read:7th Alexandra Kosteniuk Chess Cup U-6, U-8, U-10 in Kaliningrad, Russia, October 19-20, 2013

Austen was "pretty chuffed" at his win against Mr Fitzpatrick, but said he was a long way from becoming a national chess master. "I enter a few of the competitions here and there, but there are a lot of players who are undefeated," he said. "It gets pretty serious and really hard to beat them because they are really quick and smart with their moves. "But I'll just keep it up in the long run and see if I can continue to top the school."

Teacher librarian Craig Edgeman said Austen was a talented student who had a natural ability to beat the best. "He played a fantastic game on the day, which was very impressive," he said. "All of our chess players are quite skilful at their game; they're often beating me during lunch times."

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