Anna Cramling facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Cramling
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Cramling in 2021
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Anna Yolanda Cramling Bellón
30 April 2002 Fuengirola, Malaga, Spain
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Chess career
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Anna Yolanda Cramling Bellón, born on April 30, 2002, is a talented chess player from Sweden and Spain. She is also a popular live streamer on Twitch and a YouTuber. Anna holds the special chess title of Woman FIDE Master (WFM).
Her highest ever FIDE rating was 2175, which she achieved in March 2018. Anna has proudly represented Sweden in big chess events. These include the Chess Olympiad in 2016 and 2022, and two European Team Chess Championships.
Anna grew up in a family where everyone played chess. Her mother, Pia Cramling, is a Swedish Grandmaster (GM). Her father, Juan Manuel Bellón López, is a Spanish GM. Anna started playing chess when she was just three years old in Spain. When she was eleven, her family moved to Sweden. Soon after, she started playing for Sweden in chess tournaments. She has played in many important youth championships around the world. In team events, she often plays alongside her mother, with her father as the team captain.
In 2018, at age 15, Anna earned her Woman FIDE Master title. This was also the year she reached her highest rating. A big moment for her was defeating Renier Castellanos Rodriguez. He was a Spanish International Master (IM) with a very high rating of 2498 at the time. Anna started streaming online in early 2020. She focuses on sharing her love for chess with her viewers. Her parents sometimes join her streams, too! About a year later, she joined the Panda esports team. She was their very first chess streamer.
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Anna's Early Life and Family
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Anna Cramling was born on April 30, 2002, in Malaga, Spain. Her mother, Pia Cramling, is from Sweden, and her father, Juan Manuel Bellón López, is from Spain. Both of her parents are amazing chess players. They both hold the highest chess title, Grandmaster (GM).
Her mother, Pia, was once the top-ranked woman chess player in the world in 1984. She was also the fifth woman ever to become a GM in 1992. Anna's father, Juan, has won the Spanish Chess Championship five times! Anna started playing chess when she was only three years old. Her parents were always busy competing in chess tournaments. When Anna was little, she often went with them to these tournaments. Her only regular babysitter was her grandfather, who lived in Sweden.
Anna and her family lived in Spain until she was eleven. Then, they moved to Sweden. In 2014, Anna officially started playing chess for Sweden. Before that, she had only played in a few tournaments for Spain. Her father also later switched to playing for Sweden in 2017.
Anna's Chess Journey
Anna got her first official FIDE rating in February 2013. She was 10 years old and her rating was 1519. This happened after she played in a competition at the Gibraltar Chess Festival. She won one game against a player with a higher rating. The next year, in 2014, she won a special prize for women at the same event. This win helped her rating reach 1600.
In early 2015, when Anna was 12, her rating jumped a lot. She gained over 300 rating points in just two months! This helped her rating go past 1900. She played well in tournaments like the Rilton under-1800 event in Stockholm. By June 2016, at age 14, Anna reached a rating of 2000. She achieved this after playing in the Hasselbacken Chess Open in Stockholm. One of her best wins there was against Michael Backman, a strong player rated 2161.
In September 2016, Anna, at 14, played for Sweden in the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan. She became the youngest Swedish female player ever to compete in the Olympiad! Her mother, Pia, also played in the event. Anna's father was their team captain. Anna played in 7 of the 11 rounds. Sweden finished in 23rd place out of 134 teams, which was a great result.
In early 2017, Anna played in the Masters competition in Gibraltar. She even drew a game against her own father! Later that year, she played in the European Youth Chess Championships (under-16) and World Junior Chess Championships (under-20). She did well in both, gaining many rating points.
Anna earned her Woman FIDE Master (WFM) title in 2018. She gained about 200 more points that year, reaching her highest rating of 2175. She played very well in several tournaments. For example, she had an even score in the Challenger B competition in Gibraltar. She also won all her games at the Elite Hotels Open in Sweden. During this tournament, she defeated two players rated around 2200. In July 2018, Anna beat Renier Castellanos Rodriguez again. He was a Spanish International Master (IM) rated 2498.
Towards the end of 2018, her rating went down a bit. But in 2019, Anna got most of her lost rating points back. Her rating reached 2164 in October that year. Her best tournament was the European Youth Championships. She finished 13th in the under-18 girls' division, gaining 103 rating points. She had a great win against Govhar Beydullayeva, an Azerbaijani WFM rated 2307.
Chess in the 2020s
Since 2020, Anna has played in fewer chess competitions. This is partly because she became a streamer. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic meant fewer in-person tournaments were held. In September 2022, Anna played for Sweden in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India. She played alongside her mother, Pia. Anna played in 10 of the 11 rounds, winning three games and drawing four.
From November 10 to 21, 2023, Anna played in the 2023 European Team Chess Championship. She was part of the Swedish women's team. The team finished 22nd out of 32 teams. As the highest-rated player on her team, Anna played on the top board. She won five games, drew two, and lost two, scoring six out of nine possible points.
Playing for Teams
Anna has represented Sweden in women's team events. These include one Chess Olympiad and two European Team Chess Championships. In all these tournaments, she played on the same team as her mother, Pia Cramling. Her father, Juan Bellón López, was the team captain.
At the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku, Anna played on the reserve board. Sweden finished 23rd out of 134 teams, much better than expected. Anna scored 3 out of 7 points, gaining 17 rating points. She chose not to play in the 2018 Chess Olympiad. This was because her mother, Pia, decided not to play either.
Anna played at the European Team Chess Championship in 2019 and 2021. She did better in 2021, scoring 3 out of 5 points. She also gained 22 rating points. In the 2022 44th Chess Olympiad, Anna played on board 3. She scored 5 out of 10 points.
Anna's Playing Style
| This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. |
When Anna plays with the white pieces, she really likes to start with the move 1.d4 (the Queen's Pawn Game). Anna believes her chess style is a mix of her parents' styles. She said:
"I think that I play very aggressively, especially when I play online. It's just more fun! I'd say I got that from my father, as he's definitely a very aggressive and tactical chess player. In that sense I play a lot like him, and in terms of openings, I play a lot that are similar to my mother's openings, because she used to teach me a lot of them. So I guess I'd say I play my mum's openings with my dad's style!"
In 2023, Anna created a new chess opening. She named it "The Cow." It's a special way to start the game, similar to the Hippopotamus Defence. It can be played with either the black or white pieces. This opening involves specific moves like "1. e3 2. d3 3. Ne2 4. Nd2 5. Nb3 6. Ng3" for white. In March 2024, Chess.com added a version of "The Cow" to its list of recognized openings.
Anna's Streaming Career
Anna started her own Twitch channel in early 2020. Before that, she had a chance to commentate on the Women's World Chess Championship 2020 match. Her mother, Pia, sometimes joins her on Twitch to play games or offer advice. Her father also joins occasionally.
After about a year of streaming, Anna signed with the Panda esports team. She became their first chess streamer. She was also the first Swedish chess player to join such an esports organization.
Awards and Nominations
| Ceremony | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Streamer Awards | 2022 | Best Chess Streamer | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | Best Strategy Game Streamer | Won |
See also
In Spanish: Anna Cramling para niños
