Montreal teen becomes Quebec's 1st world junior chess champion

An 18-year-old from Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood was crowned this year’s World Youth Chess Champion — becoming the first Quebecer and only the second Canadian to hold the title. 

Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux took home the trophy after beating out players from 54 countries at the world under-18 chess championships last week in Romania. 

He scored nine points out of 11 — seven victories and four draws. Among those he beat was Kazybek Nogerbek of Kazakhstan, who finished second in the rankings. He posted a draw against Marius Fromm of Germany, who finished third.

“It’s not really something I expected,” said Rodrigue-Lemieux of his historic win. “The start of the tournament wasn’t so great