Youngest US chess champion is a 9-year-old girl

A nine-year-old girl from Massachusetts, Carissa Yip, is reportedly the youngest US chess champion to have reached the expert level at a younger age than anyone since the chess federation began electronic record-keeping in 1991.

A nine-year-old girl from Massachusetts, Carissa Yip, is reportedly the youngest US chess champion to have reached the expert level at a younger age than anyone since the chess federation began electronic record-keeping in 1991.

According to the Fox News, Yip's father who taught her the game said that she could reach master level in as soon as a year adding that some never reach master level and from expert to master is a huge jump.

Although Yip is hesitant to talk about her accomplishments she said that it is not like the rating matters but has set a goal for herself which is to reach 2,100 while an expert is anyone over 2,000 and a master at 2,200.

Her father said that she also aims to become the first female to win the overall championship and not just in the female category.

The report said that Yip could play with her back to the board reading her moves to her father and keeping track of the whole board in her head.

Yip's US Chess Federation ranking places her in the top 7% of all players registered with the group and the top 2% of female players and she has three years to reach the master level which is currently held by five-time US women's winner Irina Krush for becoming a master at age 12, the report added.