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U.S. CHESS CHAMPS

HOME OF U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP CHESS & THE COUNTRY’S TOP PLAYERS

Sam Shankland

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Title:
  • Grandmaster
Rating:
  • 2725
Federation:
  • Orinda, CA
Age:
  • 24
Bio:
  • When Sam Shankland was just 18, he announced he would be retiring from the game of chess. Before leaving, however, he agreed to honor his previous commitments and compete in the 2010 U.S. Junior Closed Championship – the rest is history. He won the Junior championship after back-to-back playoff matches against Parker Zhano and tournament favorite Ray Robson, earning Shankland a spot in the 2011 U.S. Championship and another commitment that became too good to refuse. The youngster performed admirably in the 2011 national title fight, edging veteran GM Alexander Onischuk in a playoff to reach the four-player quad finals. There, Shankland ran into eventual champion GM Gata Kamsky, who topped him 1.5-.5 – though after his defeat, Shankland remained upbeat. He finished third place, and described his performance as his “dream tournament for the year.” Sam spent much of the past year at his all-time rating’s high, and enters the 2016 U.S. Championship with very good recent results. A strong showing at the 2014 Qatar Masters Open was topped by an undefeated run at the 2014 Tromso Chess Olympiad, where he entered as the fifth-board reserve but went on to win an Olympic gold medal. He made his first break into the world’s top 100 players at the end of 2014, then opened up 2015 with another undefeated performance in the Tata Steel Challengers section for third place. Shankland will face the toughest U.S. Championship field in 2016. As his past performances have shown, he is up for the challenge.

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Past Events

2025
  • 2025 Spring Chess Classic
  • 2025 American Cup
  • 2025 Champions Showdown: The Kings
2024
  • 2024 U.S. National Championships
  • 2024 Spring Chess Classic
  • 2024 Cairns Cup
  • 2024 Summer Chess Classic
  • 2024 American Cup
  • Today in Chess: 2024 FIDE Candidates
2023
  • 2023 American Cup
  • 2023 Cairns Cup
  • 2023 Saint Louis Super Swiss
  • 2023 Spring Chess Classic
  • 2023 Summer Chess Classic
  • 2023 U.S. Championships
  • 2023 U.S. National Championships
  • 2023 Winter Classic
2022
  • 2022 U.S. Championships
  • 2022 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX
  • 2022 Fall Chess Classic
  • 2022 U.S. Senior Championship
  • 2022 U.S. Junior Championship
  • 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship
  • Today in Chess: 2022 FIDE Candidates
  • 2022 Summer Chess Classic
  • 2022 Saint Louis Norm Congress
  • 2022 American Cup
  • 2022 Spring Chess Classic
2021
  • 2021 U.S. Championships
  • 2021 U.S. Senior Championship
  • 2021 U.S. Junior Championships
2020
  • Today in Chess: 2020 FIDE Candidates
  • 2020 U.S. Championships
  • 2020 Champion Showdown: Chess 9LX
  • 2020 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
  • 2020 Clutch Chess: International
  • 2020 Clutch Chess: USA
  • 2020 Cairns Cup
2019
  • 2019 Saint Louis Invitational
  • 2019 Winter Chess Classic
  • 2019 Midwest Collegiate
  • 2019 Fall Chess Classic
  • 2019 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX
  • 2019 U.S. Senior Championship
  • 2019 U.S. Junior Championship
  • 2019 U.S. Girls Junior Championship
  • 2019 Summer Chess Classic
  • 2019 Saint Louis Norm Congress
  • 2019 U.S. Championships
  • 2019 US Collegiate Rapid & Blitz
  • 2019 Spring Chess Classic
  • 2019 Champions Showdown: The Kings
  • 2019 Cairns Cup
2018
  • 2018 TiC: World Championship
  • 2018 Saint Louis Invitational
  • 2018 Winter Classic
  • 2018 Fall Chess Classic
  • 2018 Champions Showdown
  • 2018 U.S. Junior Championships
  • 2018 Summer Chess Classic
  • 2018 U.S. Championships
  • 2018 Today in Chess: Candidates
  • 2018 Spring Chess Classic
  • 2018 Saint Louis Norm Congress
2017
  • 2017 Winter Chess Classic
  • 2017 Saint Louis Winter Invitational
  • 2017 Saint Louis Invitational
  • 2017 Champions Showdown
  • 2017 Fall Chess Classic
  • 2017 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
  • 2017 Sinquefield Cup
  • 2017 Match of the Millennials
  • 2017 U.S. Junior Championship
  • 2017 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship
  • 2017 Your Next Move
  • 2017 Paris GCT
  • 2017 Spring Chess Classic
  • 2017 U.S. Championship
  • 2017 U.S. Women's Championship
2016
  • 2016 Saint Louis Autumn Invitational
  • 2016 Champions Showdown
  • 2016 Sinquefield Cup
  • 2016 U.S. Junior Closed
  • 2016 Saint Louis Invitational
  • 2016 U.S. Championships
  • 2016 U.S. Women's Championship
2015
  • 2015 Showdown in Saint Louis
  • 2015 U.S. Championships
  • 2015 U.S. Junior Closed Championship
  • Kasparov vs Short
2014
  • 2014 Sinquefield Cup
2013
  • 2013 Sinquefield Cup
  • 2013 U.S. Championships
  • 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship

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