In 2023, a lot of tournament chess was being contested by eager schoolchildren and there has been an extraordinary rise in their advancement. They have become sharper, bolder, and more accurate. They are more polished.
Take Sachin Pitamber, Kyle Couchman and Aditi Joshi for example, all Queen’s College students. I participated in the first Grand Prix tournament of 2024 and I was pleasantly surprised at the sharpness of their play. They were a cut above the rest of their junior counterparts within their separate categories.