Seven-year-old Bounthiengtham “Jayson” Sengphachan has already done something no Lao chess player his age has done before.
The young player from Vientiane Chess Academy recently became the youngest Lao player to receive an official FIDE Rapid rating, a ranking based on performance in faster-paced chess games, scoring 1503 after a series of strong performances in youth tournaments in Australia.
Now, Jayson is in Singapore representing Laos at the 24th ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships, which runs from 7 to 17 August.
His latest run of tournaments came during the school holidays. In Sydney, he picked up Best U8 honors at tournaments in Epping and Pymble, as well as a second-place finish in another competition.
“A rating jump like that doesn’t happen by accident,” said his coach, Robert Suelo Jr. “It reflects the hours he’s put in studying, the discipline of showing up to classes consistently, and how well he applies pattern recognition under real tournament pressure.”
Suelo, a Philippine National Master and FIDE Instructor, has been coaching in Laos since 2023. He said the 1503 rating is only part of what makes Jayson stand out.
“For me, the rating number is really just a marker of something deeper,” he said. “What excites me about Jayson is that you can see his own personality coming through in how he plays. That’s what strong chess is really about, not just memorizing lines, but developing your own way of seeing the board.”
Jayson has developed a particularly sharp eye for patterns on the board.
“It’s how he finds chances other players might miss,” Suelo said. “We don’t want this to be the end. Our goal is to develop quality players for the Lao national team and one day help them compete in Asia and on the international stage.”
More than a game
Suelo also sees chess as something that can bring people together, regardless of age or background.
And while ratings and tournament results matter, Suelo hopes people watching the young Lao players in Singapore will pay attention to the players’ personalities beyong their playing abillities.
For now, Jayson is still only seven. But he has already earned an international rating, competed abroad and taken his place among Laos’ young chess players on the regional stage.
But Jayson is not the only young player in the family.
His older brother, Bounthengnoy “William” Sengphachan, is FIDE-rated in all three major formats, Standard, Rapid and Blitz, and is currently ranked among Laos’ top active players. He is also competing in Singapore.
William earned all three ratings in just over a year of learning and playing chess. During the family’s school holidays in Australia, he competed in several Sydney tournaments, winning Champion titles, a Best U12 award and other trophies.
The two brothers are part of a growing group of young Lao players getting more opportunities to train, compete and play against stronger opponents outside the country.
