Seven-year-old Liel Levitan was the top winner in the Girls U7 category of the European School Chess Championship 2018, held June 29 to July 8 in Krakow, Poland.
More than 300 players from over 20 European federations were divided into six age categories for open competitions and girls’ competitions (U7, U9, U11, U13, U15 and U17).
The Israeli second-grader won with 6 points after playing seven matches. Her mother, Julia, filmed Liel accepting her medal while wrapped in an Israeli flag. Click here to see Julia and Liel’s interview with Israel’s Mako news channel (in Hebrew, but too adorable to miss even if you can’t understand the words).
Two of Liel’s three older siblings, Ronit and Yaron, also were among Israel’s 23-person delegation to the event. Ronit finished third in the World School Championship in 2011, when she was seven. The Levitans, who live in Tel Hai, play in the Israel Chess Federation’s Greater Haifa Club.
The winners of the European Championships 2018 receive free board and lodging to participate in the World School Championship 2019 to be held in Tunisia.