English chess has found its latest primary school super-talent after nine-year-old Kayal Vijay, from Hertfordshire, triumphed at the 2026 European School Chess Championships in Croatia.
The youngster, who attends Avanti Meadows Primary School in Bishop’s Stortford, scored a brilliant 8/9 as she represented the English Chess Federation in Croatia. Kayal, who only took up chess two years ago, is now Europe’s U9 girls champion.
“I am super happy for winning the European Schools Championship,” she said. “I won 8 out of 9 and won 7 games in a row. I made friends from different countries. I really enjoyed playing in the tournament.”
Her parents Savitha and Vijay added: “We are very happy and incredibly proud of Kayal. Many months of consistent hard work, dedication & resilience have helped her to achieve this well‑deserved milestone. We wish her continued success in the future!”
Solving a Rubik’s
Kayal began her chess journey when she was seven years old and for the past two years she has been ranked number-one in the English Chess Federation ratings for her age group.
Even before chess, she showed an exceptional ability to recognise patterns quickly. She learnt to solve the Rubik’s Cube in just a handful of sessions, and when learning piano, she could pick up complex note patterns almost instantly. Her parents introduced chess and she fell in love with the game. Kayal’s progress was outstanding and she began winning tournaments in no time.
Kayal’s journey
Kayal won her first trophy in November 2024 at a starter tournament organised by She Plays To Win, a charitable project led by IM Lorin D’Costa whose aim is to encourage more girls to learn, play and benefit from chess.
Her parents want to mention support from local clubs and make a special mention of chess coach Paul Kemp, from the Anglican Learning Chess Academy, who encouraged her to play in more chess tournaments. She worked hard to learn and improve her game and started winning more trophies and accolades.
Competing
In 2025, Kayal played in national level tournaments in the UK and the tournament victories started rolling in.
In July 2025, Kayal won the under-8 Girls Champion in the EJCOA National Championship held in Nottingham High School. In August 2025, Kayal went on to win the under-8 Girls Champion in the prestigious British Junior Chess Championship held in Liverpool.
In the most recent national finals, English Youth Chess Championship held in Nottingham in March 2026, Kayal played in the under-10 girls category where she finished joint first, only to finish as a runner up in the playoff tiebreaks. Also, Kayal represented the Essex county team and won the EPSCA inter association U11 girls finals in both 2025 and 2026.
Going worldwide
Kayal started representing England in world and continental events in the under-8 girls category in 2025. She has competed at the World Rapid & Blitz Championship (Apr 2025) in Greece, the World Cadet Championship (Sep 2025) in Kazakhstan and the European Youth Chess Championship (OCT 2025) in Montenegro.
But her strongest appearance so far has been her win in Croatia.
Kayal’s parents added: “We would like to thank ECF for providing Kayal this opportunity to represent England. We would also like to thank the coach, local clubs and the other well-wishers who has supported Kayal to achieve this milestone.”
