8-year-old West Covina boy beats chess master in tournament game
This story has been corrected from an earlier version.WEST COVINA – In a lot of ways, Joaquin Perkins is like many 8-year-old boys. He plays basketball, watches cartoons and enjoys Pokemon trading cards.
But unlike most boys his age, Joaquin possesses a fearsome set of chess-playing skills. He has been winning chess tournaments since kindergarten.
Earlier this month, he beat a national chess master during a tournament game in Garden Grove.
“It felt pretty good,” Joaquin said. “I like beating people.”
“This means it’s someone to keep your eyes on,” said Bill Hall, executive director of the U.S. Chess Federation. “Now let’s watch and see what he can do.”
After combing through the federation’s records, Hall determined that Joaquin’s recent win makes him the seventh- youngest player to ever beat a chess master in an official tournament game.
While Joaquin was already a highly ranked chess player before the game, his opponent, Pablo Pena, was ranked even higher. Pena, 43, earlier this year beat an international chess master to win a tournament in Irvine.
Hall said there was a less than 0.5 percent chance Joaquin would beat Pena, statistically speaking.
“It’s extremely rare,” Hall said. “Could this be an anomaly? It’s possible, but it typically will show that it is a promising talent.”
Joaquin has been playing chess in some capacity since he was 2 years old, said his father, Kele Perkins. He entered his first tournament at 3 1/2.
Kele Perkins said he had been taught chess by his own father at a young age. He stopped playing after high school, but when he had a son of his own, he decided to pass along the tradition.
“It’s not that chess is really important, it’s the kind of things that it would generate,” Kele Perkins said. “Studies indicate that it has these cognitive benefits.”
Kele Perkins said they had no idea who Joaquin would be playing when he signed up for this month’s tournament.
“We just showed up and the master showed up,” Kele Perkins said. “I was hoping he would give him a decent game.”
Joaquin said he wasn’t really worried about playing a chess master when he sat down at the table.
“Not at first, but in the end I was pretty nervous,” Joaquin said.
Until the end, it seemed as though Pena would beat his son, Kele Perkins said.
“When they had about a minute left Pablo (Pena) made a mistake and blundered,” Kele Perkins said.
Joaquin said his dad told him he should pursue chess professionally when he’s older, but he seems more interested in being an NBA basketball player.
One day he asked his dad if he should play for the Lakers or the Miami Heat when he gets bigger. His favorite players are Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade.
While he has mastered the chess board, Joaquin still has a few things to learn about basketball, his dad said.
“He has no idea what kind of work it takes to be one of the best in the country for something like basketball,” Kele Perkins said.
Arizona Chess Coach 