Tanuj bags Gold at Pan-Am Youth with perfect score!

Currently the youngest FIDE Master at 8 years 2 months and 3 days

Tanuj Vasudeva is eight year old kid from Bunker Elementary school in Newark, CA. He has been playing chess for about 3 years. He plays mostly in adult tournaments in San Francisco bay area. As the #1 ranked under 8 years old in the US, he qualified as the official representative for US team to Pan American Youth Championships 2009 at Mar Del Plata, Argentina.

Pan American Youth is the most prestigious chess tournament for youths from North and South America. This year’s event had representation of top kids from 17 countries. Link: www.fideamerica.com

Tanuj was the only perfect score at the event with 9 out of 9 in Under 8 Open section. His win at Pan American earned him the title of FIDE Master. He is currently the youngest FIDE Master at 8 years 2 months and 3 days. Tanuj is preparing to play at the World Youth Chess Championship, which is starting next week in Kemer-Antalya.

Tanuj Vasudeva with gold medal

To make it even more memorable it was the best ever performance from US team with 8 medals in total. US team finished with most gold medals at the event with a tally of 5 gold, 2 silvers and 1 Bronze.

US Team Medalists: Tanuj Vasudeva U-8 Open Gold - 9.0
Annie Wang U-8 Girls Gold - 7.5
Simone Liao U-10 Girls Gold - 7.5
Tommy He U-10 Open Bronze - 6.5
Arthur Shen U-12 Open Silver - 7.0
Daniel Rozovsky U-14 Open Gold - 7.5
Victor Shen U-16 Open Gold - 7.5
Andrew Shvartsman U-16 Open Silver - 6.5

Complete results

Other notable wins for Tanuj

- Bronze medal at North American championships 2007 in Under-8 category (youngest player at the tournament)
- CA State K-5 co-champion 2009 (while in 2nd grade)
- CA State K-3 champion 2008 (while in 1st grade)
- CA State Kindergarden champion 2007 (perfect score 5/5)
- US National Champion K-1 2008 (perfect score of 7/7)

At the Pan American Youth Championships

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