The 2nd Chessaka Youth Cup (CYC): Autumn League Continues
The 2nd Chessaka Youth Cup (CYC) brought 10 young players to Chessaka, including four players who had already participated in the first leg.
As in the first tournament, there were several closely fought games and some dramatic finishes. In the game between Reymark and Sota, for example, the game ended in checkmate with just three seconds remaining on the clock.
Hector, participating in his second CYC, again scored 3 out of 5 points. This result puts him alone in first place in the current Autumn League standings.
Antonio had an especially strong first appearance in the CYC. From the opening stages of his games, he consistently created attacking chances and put pressure on his opponents. In his game against Reymark, playing with the white pieces, he made effective use of his lead in development to restrict Black's kingside and eventually converted the advantage into a win. With whopping 5 out of 5 from his first tournament participation, Antonio currently occupies third place in the overall standings, right behind Jingfei who also accomplished the perfect 5 wins in the 1st leg as some readers might remember and currently has the slightly better tiebreak.
As in the first CYC, all players received certificates, while the top six players could also choose a small chess-themed prize. Some players had already spent quite some time examining the prizes and discussing which ones they wanted to take home before the tournament even started.
Once the games began, however, the focus quickly shifted to the standings. With every point potentially affecting the final ranking, there were plenty of comebacks, surprises and difficult moments throughout the five rounds. Some players finished their games with a smile; others had to deal with the disappointment of losing a position they had been winning.
These are also important parts of tournament chess. Over time, players experience both sides of the board: the satisfaction of finding a good move or winning a difficult game, and the frustration of seeing an advantage disappear. Hopefully, with more games and more experience, the positive moments will become more frequent while the difficult games provide lessons for the next tournament.
Now we are looking forward to the 3rd leg which will conclude the autumn cycle. All results count towards an overall ranking which will determine who takes home a medal on 5 December. The best 6 players will be rewarded with medals.
After two exciting tournaments, the Autumn League is now heading towards its final leg.
Autumn League Standings After 2 Legs
Rank | Name | Points 1st CYC | Points 2nd CYC | Points 3rd CYC |
1 | Eden, Hector | 3 pts | 3 pts | |
2 | Jie, Jingfei | 5 pts | NA | |
3 | Itokazu, Antonio | NA | 5 pts | |
4 | Honda, Kikyo | 3 pts | 2 pts | |
5 - 6 | Shih, Edward | 4 pts | NA | |
5 - 6 | Yamamoto, Luito | NA | 4 pts | |
7 | Gu, Luoliya | 2 pts | 2 pts | |
8 | Eden, Kumota | 2 pts | 1.5 pts | |
9 | Ito, Shirabe | 3 pts | NA | |
10 | Imai, Ryotaro | 3 pts | NA | |
11 | Oshiro, Reymark | NA | 3 pts | |
12 | Galicia, Harumi | 3 pts | NA | |
13 | Takeda, Sota | NA | 2 pts | |
14 -15 | Sumitomo, Takeru | 2 pts | NA | |
14 -15 | Okamura, Eiichiro | 2 pts | NA | |
16 | Fujita, Koharu | NA | 1.5 pts | |
17 | Ng, Nelson | NA | 1 pt | |
18 | Fukumoto, Kota | 1 pt | NA | |
19 | Dong, Ellie | 1 pt | NA |
Results 2nd CYC
Will you be there for the final leg?
Date: Saturday, 5 December 2026
Place: Chessaka (Suita city)
Rounds: 5 rounds of Rapid Chess (15min, no increment), everyone plays 5 games
Open for: Players between 6 and 18 years old
With one tournament still to play, the standings can still change significantly. For players currently near the top, there is a chance to defend or improve their position. For everyone else, there is still an opportunity to gain points and move up the ranking. The final leg will decide the Autumn League.
