Comments about ‘Utah's chess champion, age 10, is ambitious’

Great job, Kayden! The Utah Chess Association hopes that you become the first Grandmaster from the state of Utah!!!

Wonderful blog site, Kayden! It's nice to get the story behind the story!

Great job, Kayden! We hope that you become the first Grandmaster from state of Utah!

What a fine example of a young man who participates in old fashioned wholesome pursuits that build perception and thinking skills. He will accomplish much more in life than youth who devote themselves to mindless video games that teach no skills or values whatsoever.

I play about 35 games of Chess on the Computer Every Week. When I bought my New Computer several months ago. The Computer had Vista and Chess was one of the Free Games. I took it up again after many, many years of not playing.

I gave up Chess completely when Tetris came out on Nintendo 8K the old Gray Units. Tetris did not require another Human.

No one dropped by feeling free to talk, or ask who was winning, thus destroying moves and counter moves.

It is fun playing again and I can keep it at a Level that is a Challenge and enjoyment both.

I play Chess with my Daughter (18) and my Grandson (13), but mostly me and the Computer.

Chess is Not Old Fashioned, Thousands of People Play Online Each Day. Chess does help build perception and thinking skills.

6 Hours a day of anything can induce burnout. So he needs to do other things as well, I suggest Little League.

I am way happy for his early success and wish him lots of luck to go with the skill. I also hope he does not wind up like Bobby Fisher. Its Chess, HAVE FUN.

John Cherity Spring: What would your judgmental Onion against other children be. If you found out on the flip side this kid had a bad habit.

At 62 I play video games, I have since Pong came out. They are No More Mindless then sitting in front of endless unfunny sitcoms, or Mindless Sports Events, which can be fun also.

A lot of Students at BYU, BYUH, and BYUI, and perhaps the Business College, Play Video Games. Some even play them with girls.

One of the Video Games some play and Online is Chess. I am going to play with my Computer Chess Game Now!

Way to go kid, you give NERDS a good name.

Bobby Fischer was born March 9, 1943 (8 days after I was born) and after learning chess at an early age Bobby did nothing else but study and play chess any time, any where, and against anybody who would play him. He even dropped out of high school to compete in chess because he was bored at school. He read and studied everything he could get his hands on - especially Russian chess publications because that was where the best chess was being played and they were world champions. Fischer, however, couldn't adjust to the world around him. He passed away at the age of 64 - the number of squares on the chess board. Fischer was brillant over the chess board, but a different and difficult person to know and understand away from the board.

I hope Kayden can develop his chess skills to the max and still hold on to a normal social life away from the board. Best of luck Kayde. I'll be following your chess career.

Go for it. Chess may become your road out of Utah and to some wonderful places with opportunities.

Way to go, Kayden. It sounds like you're off to a great start.

Very interesting article. But, the statement "Chess players outside America "are paying attention to Kayden."" needs some qualification. Has Kayden played any national tournaments yet? Being a state champion in Utah is a good start, but that alone hardly qualifies for international attention.

Way to go Kayden!

I have young children who are also interested in the game of chess-just for fun.

If they haven't already, I suggest that Kayden's parents read "Searching for Bobby Fischer" by Fred Waitzkin. It is very eye-opening to the world of chess. While it seems that the childrens' chess world is supported and admired in the US, it isn't the same for the adults. Kayden would do well to enjoy the game, rise as far as he can and wants to, but keep it in perspective with the rest of life.

That's my unasked for opinion. I wish him all the best and will be watching to see how far he goes.

hey kayden, pretty cool! hey, last two (and only games) i've played with you i won (granted it's been at least two years since we played). I look forward to chance to get whooped by you next time we play!

Congrats on hard work paying off! The Troff's are a great family that I'm grateful to have been lucky enough to know. Kayden don't let anyone ever tell you can't achieve your dreams!

than chess going for him. He's incredibly photogenic. He's also very good looking. He'll make a good media darling. He looks at the camera, I hope this means he's got a people personality to go along with all this focus. He'll do better with the balance of both people skills and chess skills. Bobby Fisher didn't have the former and led what we would call a lonely life.

Thanks to Wendy Leonard for the most thorough article on Kayden's big victory! Follow-up: after USCF database adjustments his offical post-tournament ratings are 1934 (regular) and 2123 (quick). 2123 is currently the highest in the USA under age 13, but an older rating (2073) will be used for the April list, putting his official ranking at #3 or #4. Another 10-year old, Nicholas Nip of CA, became the first person in USCF history to hit the master (2200) mark before age 10. Kayden's quick rating is currently higher than Nip's. If we had stronger players and/or more tournaments in Utah, there would be a reasonable chance of him breaking the 2200 long-game rating mark this year too. But we are a chess desert compared to NY, CA, TX, etc. So he plays the only USCF-rated online tournaments, where he is beating players rated 2300 and above in Quick rated events. Kayden is NOT Bobby Fischer. Though possibly equally talented, he is also sweet and kind, and considerate of his friends. Also, chess is just as old as backgammon (see "The Immortal Game" by Schenk). Thanks again for the great article, Wendy!