Awonder Liang
| Awonder Liang | |
|---|---|
 Awonder Liang at the 2013 World Youth Chess Championship in Al-Ain | |
| Country | United States |
| Born |
April 9, 2003 Wisconsin |
| Title | FIDE Master |
| FIDE rating | 2299 (March 2015) |
| Peak rating | 2327 (August 2014) |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  United States
| ||
| Chess | ||
| World Youth Chess Championship Under-8 | ||
| Gold | 2011 Caldas Novas (Brazil) | |
| World Youth Chess Championship Under-10 | ||
| Gold | 2013 Al-Ain (UAE) | |
Awonder Liang (born April 9, 2003) is an American chess player. On April 16, 2011, when he played in the Hales Corners Challenge chess tournament in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Awonder became the youngest chess expert in United States Chess Federation (USCF) history with a rating of 2000 at the age of 8 years and 7 days.[1] Awonder broke the earlier record by 64 days (which had been held by Samuel Sevian).
On August 5, 2011, at the age of 8 years 118 days, he became the youngest to defeat an International Master (IM) in a standard tournament game.[2] This occurred in round 6 at the US Open in Orlando, FL., when Awonder defeated IM Daniel Fernandez (rated FIDE 2401, USCF 2448 at that time). The previous record was broken by 4 months and 15 days; having been held by Fabiano Caruana.[3]
On November 27, 2011, he won the gold medal in the Under-8 Open section of the World Youth Chess Championship in Caldas Novas, Brazil. This win earned him the titles of U-8 World Chess Champion and FIDE Master.[4]
On July 29, 2012, he became the youngest person ever to defeat a Grandmaster (GM) in a standard time limit tournament game. It occurred in round 3 of the Washington International in Rockville, MD., when he defeated GM Larry Kaufman. Awonder was 9 years, 111 days old at the time, breaking the previous record by about 2.5 months.[5] (The record was previously held by Shah Hetul at the age of about 9 years, 6 months.[6]) At the same time, Awonder broke the USA record for the youngest to win against a GM by 10 months, 9 days; the previous record having been held by Fabiano Caruana who as of August 2012, was rated 8th in the world.
On March 23, 2013, he became the youngest person ever to obtain a master's rating within the United States Chess Federation. While playing in the Midwest Open Team Chess Festival in Dayton, Ohio, his Round 2 win over a Life Master brought his estimated USCF rating to 2207. Awonder was 17 days shy of his 10th birthday at the time of this achievement, 10 days younger than the age at the previously existing record (by Samuel Sevian, 7 days prior to his 10th birthday).
On June 30, 2014, at the age of 11 years 92 days, while competing in the 2nd Annual DC International, he became the youngest American to achieve an IM norm.
References
- ↑ Lewis, Chelsey. "Chess whiz". Wisconsintrails.com. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
- ↑ "Awonder Liang vs Daniel Fernandez (2011) "It's Awonder Full Life"". Chessgames.com. 2011-07-30. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
- ↑ "Google Discussiegroepen". Groups.google.com. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
- ↑ McClain, Dylan (December 3, 2011). "8-Year-Old American Wins a World Championship". New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- ↑ A new record by Awonder (July 30, 2012). Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information. Retrieved on 2012-10-11.
- ↑ "The Hindu News Update Service". Chennai, India: Hindu.com. 2009-01-11. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
External links
- Awonder Liang rating card at FIDE
- Awonder Liang at chess-db.com