You Think English Juniors are Underrated ...

[Leonard Barden]

Is now the Singapore no7...

...and, more relevant, is also now the world no2 among players born in 2007:
http://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml ... &line=desc


In the same list Yichen Han, also very active in English chess but not ENG, is world no9. In the 2018 world U12 Han lost round 1 by default, then scored 7.5/8, then lost to D Gukesh (now the second youngest GM ever) and missed a medal by losing round 11.


Relative to age these two seem stronger than any current English junior (of whom the best, again relative to age, are something like Wadsworth, Haria, Willow and Royal) and arguably at least as good (again relative to age) as any English junior since David Howell.

[Matt Bridgeman]

Relative to age these two seem stronger than any current English junior (of whom the best, again relative to age, are something like Wadsworth, Haria, Willow and Royal) and arguably at least as good (again relative to age) as any English junior since David Howell.

What a wonderful dose of Androcentrism! Is Haria even a junior anymore? How about our under 13 girls - Julia Volovich, Anum Sheikh and Abigail Weersing. All going gangbusters. What a great generation of girls coming through!

[Leonard Barden]

Is Haria even a junior anymore?

Ravi Haria was born in 1999 so is still eligible for the world junior U20 championship.

[Matt Bridgeman]

...but relative to age the girls deserve as much credit as the boys yes?

[Leonard Barden]

The three you list are ranked world nos 42, 46 and 58 for girls born in 2006:

https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtm ... &line=desc

I should have mentioned Akshaya Kalaiyalathan, who was rated 2288, probably around world top 10, at age 14 in August 2016, although three years later that remains her peak rating.

[Matt Bridgeman]

So that's actually good for the three girls right? The male names you went for Haria, Wadsworth and Willow are all ranked outside the top 1OO yes? Maybe be a bit more open minded.

[Leonard Barden]

The male names you went for Haria, Wadsworth and Willow are all ranked outside the top 1OO yes?

No. Haria ranks world no 45 among juniors born in 1999, Wadsworth ranks world no 47 among juniors born in 2000, and Willow ranks world no 71 among juniors born in 2002.

[Matt Bridgeman]

Okay, I stand corrected on ranking. But in relative terms their world ranking is very similar to the 3 U13 girl players I mentioned. I just think they should be equally celebrated and not overlooked. And as a late edit, the girl ranked number 58 in the world in the U13's grabbed 60 FIDE points this weekend and is probably more like 40th now. It's a very lively age group for England!