YORKTON - It’s not something that made headlines on Canadian sports networks – although to be fair they do a lousy job ignoring far more sports than they cover.
In this case of course chess remains somewhere on the fringes of sport with many seeing it merely as a board game and others working to see it in the Olympics one day.
Increasingly, my definition of ‘sport’ has expanded, and I am fine with chess falling under a broader definition of what sport is.
So, I was intrigued when I saw online recently Aaron Reeve Mendes had become Canada’s Youngest International Master. Mendes is 12.
To put that is some perspective if Mendes were in hockey he’d be making sport headlines as the next Connor Bedard.
Mendes achieved the milestone after winning gold in the Under-18 category at the North American Youth Chess Championship (NAYCC 2024), held in Virginia, USA, Dec.18 to Dec. 23.
As of December 2024, Aaron is the second-youngest current International Master and ranks second globally among Under-12 players. In addition to this incredible achievement, Aaron is also the youngest Canadian to surpass a FIDE rating of 2300, a milestone he reached in December 2023 when he earned the FIDE Master (FM) title.
“I’m really happy with the achievement,” Mendes – a student at St. Barbara Catholic Elementary School in Mississauga, Ont. – told Yorkton This Week in an interview in early January.
Mendes was quick to share his success crediting his chess coaches and parents in being instrumental in his achievement.
That said, Mendes said achieving the prestigious designation was on his list of steps to take in chess.
“I was really focused in it by the end of 2024. I had a goal. . . I was happy I got it,” he said.
Was Mendes confident heading into the North American Youth Chess Championship?
“I played in it last year too,” he said, but quickly added that did not mean he went in with huge expectations. “. . . I just tried my best and hoped for the best.”
Mendes said the field of talent in chess is an increasingly deep one, pushed in many cases by an influx of youth.
“I usually play players 20 to 30 (years of age),” he said, adding he is now seeing more players “around my age.”
Domestically, things are looking up for chess too, suggested Mendes.
“Canada is improving and the players are improving,” he said, giving much of the credit for the upswing to the efforts of the Canadian Chess Federation.
In Mendes’ case the success has followed a love of chess he has fostered with hours of practice.
Mendes said once introduced to chess he quickly found a deep interest in how the pieces move and interact, and what different positions on the board lead too.
“I can sit and think about it for hours,” he said.
Mendes also heads to a chess board after school to practice, and rises early so he can get an hour in before school too, such is the dedication needed to become an International Master at age 12.
Looking ahead Mendes hopes he qualifies to attend the World Under 20 Championships in 2025. The event will be held in, Petrovac, Montenegro, from Feb. 23 to March 8.
In the meantime looking back on 2024 it was a year of highlights for Mendes including:
* In January 2024, he secured ‘Second’ place with a score of 8 on 9 in the 6th Kudremukh Trophy All India Open FIDE Rating Rapid Chess Tournament with 376 participants.
* He was selected by CFC for the highly competitive FIDE Chessable Academy Camp, where he was among the top 12 participants invited to attend an exclusive on-site training session in Menorca, Spain, from March 27 to April 2, 2024. Under the tutelage of legendary Grandmasters Judit Polgar and Artur Jussupow, Mendes became the first Canadian to participate in this prestigious program.
* He followed this up with a sensational victory in the III Open International Chess Menorca Blitz on April 4, where he secured first place with 8 points out of 9, outshining over 160 participants and earning a performance rating of 2621.
* In August Mendes claimed the North American Junior Blitz Championship title with a flawless score of 6 out of 6.
