Sun Live learned humility after meeting 11-year-old Alex Carter, who ranked fourth out of 97 in his division at the National Chess Championship in Wellington.

After offering to play against Carter at Tay Street Beach Kitchen, the Mount Primary student won in minutes.

“Checkmate,” Carter said.

It was Carter’s second appearance on the national stage. At the competition in Auckland, he ranked 28th out of 97 competitors.

Alex Carter makes his move. Photo / Tom Eley

A result that shocked his mother, Kirsty Green, at the time.

“We thought that was pretty good for the time he had been playing,” she said.

He had only played chess for a year and a half after first playing against his grandfather, Carter said.

“I like being able to relax and just have fun,” he said.

To sharpen his skills, Carter often practises for five to seven hours daily, doing chess puzzles and playing against various opponents online.

“Chess puzzles give you a random position. Some you can win in five moves, and others you can win in one,” he said.

“So we have to try to find the best move.”

Alex Carter plays against his mother Kirsty Green at Tay Street Beach Cafe, in Mount Maunganui. Photo / Tom Eley

Outside of chess, Carter’s other passion is football, where he plays right wing. Green said he is torn between his love for both sports.

Carter said that his favourite team is Tottenham Hotspur.

Green said he had to travel to Rotorua, where the regional competition took place, and he was among the top three in that competition to get to the national stage.

He plays chess on Monday nights at the Mount RSA and gets additional practice while he undergoes monthly infusion treatments for his ulcerative colitis at the hospital.

At the tournament over Labour Day weekend, he played nine games of more than five to seven hours, winning seven.

“One of the tournament games I won in 30 seconds.”

Carter likes to open with the white pieces and can play a variety of chess openings, including the Queen’s Gambit and the Caro Kahn.

One day, he would like to reach the rank of Grandmaster, joining the likes of Murray Chandler and compete on the world stage, Carter said.

“I would love to go overseas to America.”

To become a grandmaster, a player must achieve a rating of 2500 and earn at least three favourable results, known as norms, in tournaments where other grandmasters are participating.

These results must be from 27 games, and the players must represent three different chess federations.

Carter is entirely self-taught and does not have a membership to Chess.com. Besides borrowing a few books from the library, he has never paid for lessons.

Chess exploded in popularity due to the Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit, but according to Carter, it is a game that doesn’t require much money to start playing.

A common mistake Carter sees when he plays newer chess opponents is a lack of planning and co-ordination of pieces.

“You need good pieces and get them to work together,” he said.