12-year-old Cahree Myrick Beat 249 Players to Become the First-ever Chess Champion [Photos/Video]

– Cahree Myrick won the US national youth chess championship

– He won with a perfect score from a pool of 249 players

– He is Baltimore’s first ever national youth chess champion

12-year-old Cahree Myrick overcame competition from 249 players from 28 US states to emerge as US national youth chess champion on May 15. In the process, the young prodigy from Baltimore became his city’s first ever youth player to hold the prestigious title. To make his achievement even more remarkable, Cahree won the competition, officially known as US National Chess Federation SuperFinals, with a perfect score of 7 points out of 7 games.

Cahree, who excels at school, has learnt to balance his school work and chess as well as his other passion, track. His mother, Yuana Spears, supports him and regularly takes him to practice his skills at a local barber shop against older opponents.

In an interview, Spears praised her son’s dedication and hard work towards the game. She said: “He showed the dedication; he showed the drive; he showed the hunger for getting ready for this tournament, and he was successful.”

Steve Alpern, a spokesperson for Baltimore’s chess league, also commended Cahree, adding: “To win it with a perfect score is pretty incredible.”

Watch more about Cahree’s achievement in the video below.