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Article updated: 1/17/2013 8:00 AM

Urbana sophomore is chess champion

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Urbana High School sophomore Yue "Penny" Xu, 16, surrounded by a table full of chess trophies, at her home in Urbana.

Associated Press

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Talk to Urbana High School student Yue “Penny” Xu, and you’d find her a good-natured, talkative high school sophomore. But play chess with her, and you might get a different impression.Her coach at Urbana, Jeff Davis, has played her in tournaments and said she’s focused and serious while playing. “You wouldn’t know she’s a kid after you start playing,” Davis said. Hector Hernandez, who coaches the chess team Penny started on in Chicago and tutored her, called her “a technician of the game.”