Jeffery Xiong

Jeffery Xiong of Coppell, Texas, is the reigning World Junior Chess Champion, and the youngest in the world's Top 100 players. He has shown tenacity well beyond his years. At age 16, he already has had an impressive list of results: 2013 MVP of the United States Chess League for his perfect record in regular season for the Dallas Destiny, 2015 Chicago Open Championship, 6th place finish in the strongest U.S. Championship in history (2016), Champion in the 2016 Capablanca Memorial-Group B, 3rd place in the 2017 Wilk aan Zee Challenger Group,  and was recently awarded the prestigious Samford Chess Fellowship. However, it is his creativity on the board and his maturity in defeat that has caught the eye of some of the most renowned chess grandmasters.

From a very young age, Xiong has seen his losses, though painful, as an opportunity to improve. While some of Xiong's older competitors have been known to display their frustration with difficult losses, he remains collected—analyzing where his play could have been stronger. This maturity has helped enlist legendary Grandmaster Garry Kasparov as a mentor in the Young Stars program, and it has led to numerous impressive victories and awards since.

Jeffery ranks No.4 in USA currently, qualifying as the youngest member of Team USA, representing the country in the upcoming World Team Championship.