The 2022 Intercontinental ChessKid Candidates Tournament has come to an end. Eight talented young chess players from around the world gathered in the heart of Madrid to play in this FIDE-recognized event, in the same venue and using the same boards and pieces as the adult grandmasters participating in the 2022 FIDE Candidates Tournament.

The event was won by Artyom Bogdanov from Kazakhstan with a 6.5/7 score.

This inaugural competition was part of a week full of special ChessKid-related events in Madrid, which also featured a simul exhibition and educational chess seminars.

Qualifiers

To make it to the finals at the Palacio de Santoña, players had to compete in a series of qualifiers, beating out over 200 aspiring young players from 52 countries. Qualifiers were divided geographically into three sections:

• The Americas
• Europe & Africa
• Asia & Oceania

Each section featured a Swiss-system qualifying tournament, with four players from each geographical region qualifying for the online semifinal event. The semifinal featured a round-robin tournament, in which two players from each section went through to the finals. Wildcard entries selected by the Madrid Chess Federation and ChessKid España also took part in the final event.

Players

The final field consisted of:

• Jaime Rey Martinez, Spain | FIDE Rating: 2073 Standard, 1929 Rapid
• Alex Villa Tornero, Spain | FIDE Rating: 2076 Standard, 1872 Rapid
• Jesus Daniel Diaz Guerrero, Mexico | FIDE Rating: 1597 Standard, 1556 Rapid
• Levi Kalani Alexander Fogo Esquivel, Mexico | FIDE Rating: 1598 Standard, 1532 Rapid
• Artyom Bogdanov, Kazakhstan | FIDE Rating: 2059 Standard, 1513 Rapid
• Sebastian Suarez, USA | FIDE Rating: 1454 Standard
• Miguel Herraiz Ciudad, Spain | FIDE Rating: 1546 Standard, 1446 Rapid
• Cristopher Bozhkov Stoyanov, Spain | FIDE Rating: 1505 Standard, 1287 Rapid

Results

The eventual winner of the tournament was the young Artyom Bogdanov from Kazakhstan, who won all of his games aside from a closely-contested draw in the third round. He finished the tournament with a convincing 6.5 points, 0.5 points ahead of fellow contender Alex Villa Tornero.

Bogdanov had several impressive performances during the tournament, including this seventh-round game against Levi Kalani Alexander Fogo Esquivel which demonstrated his skill and tactical acumen. Our congratulations go out to Artyom Bogdanov, as well as the other strong young players who competed in this event!

Curious about other ChessKid-organized events? This calendar is regularly updated with the latest shows and events, including lessons from titled players and competitive tournaments for young players around the world.