Hearing-impaired Audelle, 10, is rising chess star

It was only when Audelle Sim was six years old that her parents found out that she has a hearing impairment.

- Melvyn Teoh

As a child, Audelle had taught herself to read lips to understand people around her, but she could not do so during the Covid-19 pandemic when masks became a daily accessory.

Her dad Audwin, 41, said: "During the Covid period, we noticed that she has difficulty understanding because of the mask, that's when we realised she has hearing loss."

After picking up chess a year later during her Programme for Active Learning lesson in Primary 1, Audelle, who is now 10, has since blossomed into one of Singapore's rising stars in the game.

At the 2024 Eastern Asia Youth Chess Championship in Penang in July, she topped the U-10 girls' individual categories for both the rapid and blitz events, and bagged team golds in rapid, blitz and standard.

Her foray into competitive chess began in 2022, when she was in Primary 2. The following year, the Northland Primary School pupil clinched the girls' Under-10 National School Individual rapid title, which she retained in 2024, while also winning the National School Teams rapid title.

When asked who she usually plays with, Audelle said with a laugh: "I play online, nobody is good enough in my family!

"During lunch, I will be watching YouTube and playing games, I'll play chess at night too."