My good friend Carla Heredia Serrano won the Panamerican Women’s Chess Championship which took place at the end of November in 2012. She played a dominating performance, going undefeated!

This is really cool for a few reasons. Carla now becomes a Women’s Grandmaster! This is the highest rank that a female chess player can achieve and she’s only 21! A full time student at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, she found time to study chess while keeping up great grades.

Carla is an inspiration to girls everywhere! She speaks three languages (Spanish, English, and German) and is studying to be a sports psychologist while traveling the world playing chess. She is from Ecuador and has traveled to over thirty countries including India, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, and Turkey.

I got to ask Carla a few questions about chess:

George: What is your favorite part of traveling for chess?

Carla: I love to get to know other cultures.I had the amazing opportunity to go sightseeing in so many countries. Chess has in life for 14 years and is more than a competitive sport to me. It has taught me to overcome barriers and perseverance in the face of many challenges.