A Burnaby teen known for his masterful skills around a chess board helped Team B.C. win third place at the 28th annual Canadian Chess Challenge in Regina last weekend.
Jeremy Hui of Moscrop Secondary School won seven games and tied twice in the tournament, which saw 12 players from each province (one from each grade) go head-to-head against peers in their age group.
“I had a great time,” the Grade 12 student told the NOW. “The tournament was definitely really hard. My section was pretty tough.”
The tournament winner was Ontario, followed by Quebec.
Hui started playing chess at seven years old after his dad taught him the game. He’s been hooked ever since.
During the last decade, he’s been to the national championships five times, winning first place in his age group in Grade 6 and again last weekend. In 2013, he represented Team Canada at the World Youth Chess Championships and travelled to the United Arab Emirates for the competition.
This year’s national tourney, however, carried a bitter-sweet feeling for Hui. It was the last time the 17-year-old played as a junior player before graduating from high school.
“I’ll be sad I won’t be able to play as much, but I’ll still be able to keep in touch with the chess people I know in the community,” he said, adding he plans to pursue a science degree at UBC in the fall.
When not attending to his studies, Hui said he’ll still be attending tournaments and playing a few matches here and there. He also wants to grow his non-profit organization Chess2Inspire, which provides free chess lessons to libraries and inner-city schools.
“I love teaching chess to kids. It’s pretty fulfilling watching them learn the game,” Hui said.
