Hansel wins Championship in Vegas

10-year old Hansel Teoh (Hansel here at chess.com), from  Monticello Academy (Sunnyvale) won the Polgar World Open Boys Under-11 Championship in Las Vegas this weekend (June 6-7) with a perfect 5-0 score and won the speed chess competition with 5.5/7. He raised his national ranking by more than 200 points in his best performance to date.

Although not seeded in the top 25 of the 79-player field, he swept away the competition at the South Point Casino/Hotel in Las Vegas without stumbling. He defeated competitors from Arizona, Texas and Louisiana. All of his opponents except one finished in the top 12, and all were ranked higher than Hansel. He won a trophy, a chess clock and a Monroi device for recording games at tournaments.

"Feels great to be #1. I love the big prizes especially the Monroi".

Hansel has played competitively for just over 3 years. He studies with chess master Eric Schiller, plays online at chess.com and trains at chessmagnetschool.com.