The Field
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 #23 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
Abhimanyu Mishra
Abhimanyu Mishra is a grandmaster originally from New Jersey. He is the current highest rated 14-year-old in the country and is the youngest player ever to earn the grandmaster title, which he did at the age of 12 years, 4 months in June 2021. Mishra has also broken a number of U.S. chess records, including the record for youngest Expert (2000 USCF), youngest National Master (2200 USCF), and youngest International Master, which he earned faster than anyone in history at the age of 9 years, 2 months. Mishra’s tournament achievements include winning Group B of the 2022 St. Louis Spring Chess Classic and placing second in the 2023 TePe Sigeman & Co tournament. As of June 2023, Abhimanyu was ranked #21 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list, and #6 for U.S. players under 21.
Jason Liang
Jason Liang is an international master originally from Ashburn, Virginia. He is currently ranked #4 among U.S. players under 21 and is the second highest-rated 16-year-old in the country. Liang’s tournament achievements include winning clear first in the 2022 Eastern Ontario Chess Championship and tying for first in the 2022 Washington International. As of June 2023, Jason was ranked #35 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
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 and then sharing third in the 2021 World Open. As of June 2023, Andrew was ranked #41 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
Balaji Daggupati
Balaji Daggupati is a grandmaster originally from Northern California. He is currently ranked #10 among U.S. players under 21 and is the third highest-rated 18-year-old in the country. Daggupati’s tournament achievements include winning the 2019 US Class Championship and tying for 3rd place in the 2022 U.S. Junior Championship. As of June 2023, Balaji was ranked #61 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
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 #68 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
Arthur Guo
Arthur Guo is a Grandmaster elect originally from Georgia. He is currently ranked #13 among U.S. players under 21 and is the highest-rated 17-year-old in the country. Guo’s tournament achievements include finishing first in the 2021 National Open and the 2022 Denker Tournament of High School Champions, as well as recently earning his final GM norm in the June 2023 First Saturday tournament. As of June 2023, Arthur was ranked #99 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
Kirk Ghazarian
Kirk Ghazarian is an American International Master originally from Los Angeles, California. He is currently ranked #14 among U.S. players under 21 and is the second highest-rated 17-year-old in the country. Kirk currently has two GM norms, and has qualified for the 2023 FIDE World Cup. As of June 2023, Kirk was ranked #83 on the FIDE Top 100 Juniors list.
Josiah Stearman
Josiah Stearman is an International Master originally from Northern California. He is currently ranked #25 among U.S. players under 21 and is the third highest-rated 20-year-old in the country. Stearman’s tournament achievements include earning his first and second GM norms at the 1000GM LA Norm Invitational in February 2023, as well as the 2023 American Continental Championship, where he ended up finishing in fourth place.
Arthur Xu
Arthur Xu is a FIDE master originally from Illinois. He became a National Master at the age of 11 and is currently ranked #21 among U.S. 16-year-olds. Xu’s tournament achievements include winning a silver medal at the 2017 World Cadet Chess Championship U10, a silver medal at the 2019 North American Youth Chess Championship U12, and a gold medal at the 2021 North American Youth Chess Championship U14. Arthur also won the 2022 U.S. Junior Open, which earned him a qualification spot in the 2023 U.S. Junior Championship.