Hugo Reid student on 2015 All-American Chess Team
Arcadia 5th grader Joaquin Perkins who attends Hugo Reid Elementary School, has been named to the 2015 All-America Chess Team. This is his second time being named to this prestigious team. It’s a rather extraordinary honor. They have him listed in the Age 9 category even though he is 10 because their criteria uses ages of January 1st, 2014.
“The All-America Chess Team was created in 1987 to honor the very best players ages 18 and under. The team, one of the highest national honors attainable by a young chess player, is selected on the basis of age, rating, and activities during that year, similar to the selection process of “all conference” sports teams.”
Joaquin has won seven national chess championships and competes internationally. He is considered a chess expert based on his rating. Two years ago when he was 8, he beat a 43-year-old chess master. This made him the 7th youngest player to defeat a master in a regular rated game. He has been playing since he was 2.