Amelie Phung is only in the second grade, but she’s already planning her next big move.
Seven-year-old Amelie is headed to California with her father Tam this weekend when she will play in a national chess tournament. If she makes the right moves on the chess board, Amelie could win a chance to represent the USA at the World Chess Championship in Greece.
The Forest Hills chess prodigy, who attends a school for the gifted and talented on the Upper East Side, will be competing against other whiz kids under the age of 8.
“Chess was just a casual thing for us and then suddenly she started exhibiting this amazing talent for the game,” Tam said. “You start by winning a lot of games and then you start going to championships and next thing you know you’re hiring one of the country’s chess champions to tutor your kid.”
Amelie’s coach is Irina Krush, an American chess international Grandmaster, a title that is given to the world’s best players. Krush is known for her instructional videos called “Krushing Attacks” and when she’s not playing chess she’s teaching the game to Amelie at the Marshall Chess Club in Manhattan.
Tam first began to notice that Amelie was good at chess after she played with a group of older men who play in a local park.
Amelie’s rating is currently around 1,200 and to be a Grandmaster your rating has to be at least 2,600. But for her age group, Amelie’s rating puts her in the top five. All of this is new for Amelie’s father and he is learning more about a game that Amelie continues to progress in.
“There’s so much chess history in New York City and we feel honored that this year we’re going to be representing the city in the competition,” Tam said.
When the weather becomes warmer, Amelie will return to her true love, golf.
“The great thing about chess is it teaches her the discipline needed for golf,” Amelie’s father said. “And golf is where her true talents are. But who knows. Six months ago I knew almost nothing about chess.”
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