TORONTO — Aaron Reeve Mendes says he was just five years old when he started playing chess, a favourite game of his father’s.
“I really liked how complex it was and how, like, it was not solved like many other board games,” he said.
“No matter how much time you spend at the board, you can’t, like, solve chess.”
He spent a lot of time at the board. Now, at 12, he is the youngest Canadian ever to win an international master title.
Mendes, who lives in Mississauga, Ont., came in first at the 2024 North American Youth Chess Championship held in Dulles, Va., last month.
“I was really happy beyond the words I can explain,” he said in an interview. “I got a trophy and I took many pictures.”
Mendes spent his early…