Awonder Liang

Awonder Liang, photo by  Austin FullerAwonder Liang (2003–) is an American chess Grandmaster celebrated for his early achievements in the chess world. He became the youngest chessexpert in U.S. Chess Federation history at the age of 8 and earned the Grandmaster title in 2017 at 14 years old, making him one of the youngest to do so. Liang won the World Youth Chess Championships in the Under-8 section in 2011 and the Under-10 section in 2013. He has also represented theUnited States in international competitions and continues to be a prominent figure in the chess community.

Webster-First Place

2026 Pan-Am: Missouri Schools Show Chess Prowess

The 2026 Pan-Am was held January 2–5 in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Webster University, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the University of Missouri, and Saint Louis University finished first, second, third, and fourth (respectively) in the Open section. More 🡢

Grandmaster Awonder Liang

Cheese Life or Chess Life?

The U.S. Open, an annual tournament run by US Chess, returns to Middleton, Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s nickname is “America’s Dairyland” and state residents are sometimes referred to as “Cheeseheads.” More 🡢

books

Full-ride College Chess Scholarships

Full-ride scholarships cover four years of college expenses, including tuition, fees, books, housing, and meals. Several U.S. universities offer full-ride college chess scholarships. While players with FIDE titles are most likely to be awarded full-ride college chess scholarships, players with ratings as low as 2300 US Chess have been awarded these scholarships. More 🡢

Hans Niemann

Is Hans Niemann the second-best classical chess player of 2022?

Imagine a ranking system in which defeating the World Chess Champion trumps other considerations. In this system, Hans Niemann would be #2 for 2022. Niemann is the only player with a classical chess win over World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen. This imaginary system is more like sports rankings than chess rankings and is loosely based on the Morphy number. More 🡢

Awonder Liang

Chess Move Order Mystery

In the ninth round of the 2022 U.S. Chess Championship, Grandmaster Awonder Liang played a surprising third move against Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana. Liang’s third move has long been considered bad, yet Liang drew the game. At the end of 13 rounds, Caruana became the 2022 U.S. Champion. More 🡢