The Field
Illia Nyzhnyk
Illia Nyzhnyk is a Ukranian grandmaster and former Ukranian No. 1. He earned the GM title at the age of 14 years and three months, making him the youngest grandmaster in the world at the time. Nyzhnyk is a former World Youth U12 silver medalist, as well as an U12 and U16 European Youth Champion. Illia has won multiple prestigious opens in recent years, including the 2018 World Open, 2019 U.S. Open, and 2023 National Open.
Dariusz Swiercz
Dariusz Swiercz is a Polish-American grandmaster and former World Junior Champion. He was just 14 years and seven months old when he achieved his GM title, making him the youngest Polish player ever to do so. Swiercz has won numerous prestigious events, including the 2011 World Junior Championship, 2016 Millionaire Open, and the 2017 Spice Cup Open. Dariusz is a long-time member of the Saint Louis University chess team, and helped the team win the 2022 Collegiate Chess Final Four.
Benjamin Bok
Benjamin Bok is a Dutch chess grandmaster who earned the GM title in 2014. He has represented the Netherlands in multiple team competitions and Olympiads, starting with the 2016 Olympiad in Baku. In 2015, Bok won first place in the London Chess Classic FIDE Open with a score of 8/9. He is a long-time member of the Saint Louis University chess team, and was part of the winning team in the 2022 Collegiate Chess Final Four. Benjamin streams regularly on Twitch under the username GMBenjaminBok.
Aram Hakobyan
Aram Hakobyan is an Armenian grandmaster and former u12 World Youth Champion. He is a four-time winner of the Armenian Youth Championship (U10, U12, U14, and U18) and was the vice-champion of the 2014 European Youth Chess Championship u14. Aram is currently a member of the Webster University chess team, helping them win the 2023 Collegiate Chess Final Four.
Raunak Sadhwani
Raunak Sadhwani is an Indian grandmaster and prodigy originally from Nagpur. He achieved the Grandmaster title in 2019 at the age of 13 years, 9 months, making him the 9th youngest player to do so at the time. Raunak was the winner of the 2021 Spilimbergo Open and the runner-up in the 2022 Challengers Chess Tour. In 2022, he won a team bronze medal for India at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad.
Krishnan Sasikiran
Krishnan Sasikiran is an Indian grandmaster originally from Madras. He is a four time Indian Champion (1999, 2002, 2003, 2013), 1999 Asian Junior Champion, and 2003 Asian Individual Champion. With a peak FIDE rating of 2720, Sasikiran has won a number of international events, including the 2003 Politiken Cup, 2005 Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament, and 2008 Pamplona International. Sasikiran is also a long-time member of the Indian national team, helping the team win the bronze medal in the 2014 Chess Olympiad, where he also won an individual silver medal on Board 3.
John Burke
John Burke is an American grandmaster originally from New Jersey. Burke achieved the International Master title in January 2016 and earned the Grandmaster title in 2018. Some of his tournament victories include the 2018 US Masters, 2019 Foxwoods Open, and 2020 US Junior Championship. Burke is a member of the Webster University Chess team, having helped them win the 2023 Collegiate Chess Final Four.
Mishra Abhimanyu
Abhimanyu Mishra is an American grandmaster and 2023 U.S. Junior Champion. He is the current youngest player ever to earn the grandmaster title, which he did at the age of 12 years and 4 months in June 2021. Mishra also earned the International Master title faster than anyone in history (9 years, 2 months) and has broken a number of U.S. chess records, including the records for youngest Expert (2000 USCF) and youngest National Master (2200 USCF). In 2022, Mishra won Group B of the St. Louis Spring Chess Classic with 7/9 points.
Pranav Venkatesh
Pranav Venkatesh is an Indian grandmaster and prodigy originally from Bangalore. He earned the Grandmaster title in 2022 after achieving norms at the 2021 Serbia Open, 2022 Vezerkepzo GM Tournament, and 2022 Limpedea Cup, becoming the 75th grandmaster in Indian history. Pranav also won the gold medal for Board 1 at the 2022 World Youth Chess Olympiad, and later went on to win the online 2022 Challengers Chess Tour.
Nikolas Theodorou
Nikolas Theodorou is a Greek grandmaster originally from Athens. He earned the International Master title in 2016 and the Grandmaster title in 2021. In 2022 Theodorou represented Greece at the 44th Chess Olympiad, winning an individual silver medal on Board 2. Theodorou is currently a member of the Saint Louis University chess team and helped them win the 2022 Collegiate Chess Final Four.
Alex Lenderman
Alex Lenderman is an American grandmaster originally from Saint Petersburg, Russia. He immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was four, growing up in Brooklyn, New York. Lenderman had an impressive career as a junior, winning multiple national titles and becoming the u16 World Champion in 2006. Lenderman's other tournament achievements include winning the U.S. Open four times (2009, 2011, 2017, 2021), winning the 2014 International Bavarian Chess Championship, and winning first at the 2015 World Open. Lenderman was also the coach of the gold medal winning USA team in the 2016 FIDE Chess Olympiad.
Brandon Jacobson
Brandon Jacobson is a grandmaster originally from New Jersey. He is currently ranked #5 among U.S. players under 21 and is the second highest-rated 19-year-old in the country. Jacobson’s tournament achievements include winning the 2016 Barber Invitational, the 2020 Charlotte Open, and the 2023 Saint Louis Super Swiss. As of June 2023, Brandon was ranked #28 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
Semyon Lomasov
Semyon Lomasov is an Israeli grandmaster and former u14 World Champion originally from Russia. His junior accolades include winning 1st in the 2012 European Rapid Youth Championship u10, silver medal at the 2014 European Youth Championship u12, 1st in the 2016 Russian Youth Championship u14, and 1st in the 2016 World Youth Championship u14. He was also the winner of the 2018 Moscow Open, 2018 Russian Champion u21, and won team gold as the first board for Russia in the 2017 World Youth u16 Chess Olympiad. Lomasov earned the International Master title in 2015 and became a Grandmaster in 2021.
Elshan Moradiabadi
Elshan Moradiabadi is an Iranian-American grandmaster originally from Tehran. He won the 2001 Iranian Chess Championship at the age of 16 and in 2016 was the second Iranian player in history to cross the 2600 FIDE rating threshold. Elshan moved to the U.S in 2012 to attend Texas Tech University, helping them win the 2012 Collegiate Final Four as well as the 2015 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. In 2017, Elshan switched to the U.S. Federation, winning a number of events since then, including the 2017 Washington Congress, 2019 Rilton Cup, and the 2022 U.S. Open.
Andrew Hong
Andrew Hong is a grandmaster originally from Santa Clara, California. He is currently ranked #7 among U.S. players under 21 and is the highest-rated 18-year-old in the country. Hong’s tournament achievements include tying for first place in the 2021 Philadelphia International, sharing third in the 2021 World Open, and tying for second in the 2023 U.S. Junior Chess Championship. As of July 2023, Andrew was ranked #38 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
Batsuren Dambasuran
Dambasuren Batsuren is a Mongolian grandmaster and current Mongolian No. 1. He earned the GM title in 2020 and in 2022 won his first Mongolian Chess Championship with 8.5/11. In 2021, he qualified for the FIDE World Cup and has represented Mongolia in multiple team events, most recently in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India.
Arman Mikaelyan
Arman Mikaelyan is an Armenian grandmaster originally from Yerevan. He earned the International Master title in 2015 and the Grandmaster title in 2017. His junior achievements include being a six-time Armenian youth medalist, tying for 3rd place at the 2010 European Youth Chess Championship u14, and earning the team silver in the 2011 World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad. More recently, Mikaelyan has won a number of strong open tournaments, including the 2022 Lone Star Open, 2022 World Open (t-1st), as well as the 2022 & 2023 Pacific Coast Open.
Justin Wang
Justin Wang is an international master originally from Texas. He is currently ranked #9 among U.S. players under 21 and is the second highest-rated 18-year-old in the country. Wang’s tournament achievements include winning the Saint Louis IM Norm Invitational on two separate occasions, as well as winning the 2019 U.S. Cadet Championship. As of June 2023, Justin was ranked #65 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
Luka Budisavljevic
Luka Budisavljevic is a Serbian grandmaster and current #61 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list. He earned his title in 2021 at the age of of 16 years and 10 months, becoming the youngest Serbian player ever to do so. Luka has represented the Serbian national team in numerous team and youth events, earning both the team and individual silver medal in the U18 European Youth Rapid Championship.
Akshat Chandra
Akshat Chandra is an American grandmaster and former prodigy. His scholastic achievements include winning the 2013 K-9 Super-National Championship as well as the 2013 North American Youth Championship. In April 2015, Akshat won the National K-12 Championship and later that year he won the U.S. Junior Championship. His other victories include winning the 2018 UTD FIDE Open, as well as the 2019 SPICE Cup Open. Akshat is currently a member of the Saint Louis University chess team, and was part of the winning team in the 2022 Collegiate Chess Final Four