The story so far
The scoresheet
Every game is written down move by move. So is this one — and the last line is still blank.
A chess book on the shelf
Yavuz picked up a chess book bought for his older brother, read it, and started explaining to the house how each piece moved.
His first board
Within weeks of finding the book, he would not stop talking about it — so his mum bought him a chess set from the Christmas market in Manchester.
UK Chess Challenge — Under-8 Megafinal
It did not go well. His parents quietly decided that chess probably wasn't for him. He would win the same competition two years later.
Second at the AJIS tournament
Playing for Manchester Grammar Junior School at the AJIS tournament — the annual chess competition between independent junior schools across the North West — he finished second. Six months after the first tournament, and the first real sign that his parents had got it wrong.
EPSCA trials, Cheshire & North Wales
He asked to try out for the regional team and was picked at one trial for both age groups — the Under-9s and the Under-11s. The serious chess started there.
An England shirt
Picked for the EPSCA Under-11 England squad in April. Then selected for the ECF England A team at the Stokes Cup in July, the Under-12 event of the Glorney Gilbert International, finishing second. One year, two England selections.
His first title
Thirty-one months from a borrowed book to an England shirt. The next move is a first FIDE title — and that needs stronger opposition, more coaching, and someone willing to back it.
