Ashburn's Jennifer Yu, 12, Wins World Chess Championship

A 12-year-old Ashburn girl has officially become the first American girl to win the World Youth Chess Championship in 27 years.

Jennifer Yu, rated as a “national master” by the U.S. Chess Federation, claimed the title last month after going undefeated in 11 matches at the tournament in South Africa.

“Jennifer Yu stole the show at the 2014 World Junior Championship, scoring 10 out of 11 in the Girls U12,” wrote Grandmaster Ben Finegold on the U.S. Chess Federation website. “I was most impressed with her last round game, where, after already clinching Gold, she simply crushed her opponent.”

Jennifer spends at least an hour a day practicing her chess skills and takes weekly lessons via Skype from grandmaster Larry Christiansen, The Washington Post reports. She first qualified for the world championships in 2012 at the age of 10, when she competed in Slovenia and finished 11th out of 120 competitors.