The massive (1,584 players from 92 countries) 2012 World Youth Tournament held in Maribor, Slovenia, has come to a close and the US made a major effort to claim a good share of victories for its team of 89 players and 12 coaches.

In various parts of the US, fans were cheering for their local favorites. Here in New England, we were watching the fortunes of Carissa Yip of Lexington in the “Under 10 Girls” section. Girls had the choice of entering either the Open section for various ages or one of six sections ranging from U18 to U8 for girls. The boys did not have the choice of entering the girls sections. With no prior FIDE rating, Carissa was rated 124th in her group. Her score reflected a seesaw performance, as she first posted a minus score and then, toward the end, a plus score. She ended with an even score, ranking 64th, well above her starting position. She was apparently not humbled by the tournament according to her father, Percy Yip, who reported back on her games and supplied all the anxiety. He says that he and Carissa will try to be back next year.