Nothing beats the joy of winning a tournament, even for Andrei Negrean. He’s a youngster from Romania who has taken home 73 medals from local and international chess competitions — 9 bronze, 14 silver, 50 gold…

And he’s only 10 years old!

Andrei is a student in the Chessable X FIDE Academy, and it didn’t take long before our trainers took note of his immense talent.

The two-time Women’s World Champion, Grandmaster Xie Jun, recognized Andrei as one of the most impressive trainees during the first season of the academy…

And if the young man’s recent tournament performances are any indication, Xie’s lofty praise is more than justified.

Not only did Andrei finish clear first in the 2022 FIDE World Cadet U10 Blitz Championship and the 2021 European Union Youth U10 Championship. He crushed the field and didn’t drop a single game!

But while Andrei is happy with the results, he’s not one to rest on his laurels.

Earlier this month, he played in the 2nd stage of the 2022 Grand Prix Romania, where he’s a clear underdog. 

Everyone else in the tournament had a good 300 to 500 rating points on Andrei. But the skilled and strong-willed lad doesn’t fear stiff competition, and he walked away with two draws and three wins for a respectable 44% score.

When asked about his experience in the Chessable X FIDE Academy, Andrei quipped: “The fact that I learned from the best made me better, and my favorite Academy trainer was GM Yu Shaoteng.”

Congratulations, Andrei! Here’s to more tournament wins and world championships.

References:

2022 FIDE World Cadet U10 Blitz Championship: https://chess-results.com/tnr633933.aspx?lan=1&art=9&snr=2

European Union Youth Championship 2021 – U10: https://ratings.fide.com/calculations.phtml?id_number=1291513&period=2021-09-01&rating=0

2022 Grand Prix Romania, 2nd stage: https://ratings.fide.com/calculations.phtml?id_number=1291513&period=2022-07-01&rating=0