Samuel Sevian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Samuel Sevian |
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Sevian in 2023
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| Country | United States |
| Born | December 26, 2000 Corning, New York, U.S. |
| Title | Grandmaster (2014) |
| FIDE rating | 2660 (August 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2703 (May 2022) |
| Peak ranking | No. 32 (June 2022) |
Samuel Sevian was born on December 26, 2000. He is an American chess grandmaster. A grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can earn. Samuel was once known as a chess prodigy, which means he was incredibly talented at chess from a very young age.
He became a grandmaster when he was 13 years, 10 months, and 27 days old. At that time, he was the youngest American ever to achieve this title. He also set new age records in the United States for becoming a National Master and an International Master.
Samuel's Amazing Chess Journey
Samuel Sevian started playing chess when he was just 5 years old. His first big success came in 2009. He became the youngest "Expert" in the history of the USCF. He was only 8 years and 2 months old, breaking the old record by more than 10 months.
Becoming a National Master
On December 9, 2010, Samuel became the youngest "National Master" in USCF history. He was 9 years, 11 months, and 23 days old. He beat the previous record by just three days!
Earning the International Master Title
In 2012, Samuel quickly completed all the steps needed to become an "International Master" (IM). He did this in only six months. He officially became an IM in November 2013. This happened after his FIDE rating went over 2400 at a tournament in Budapest. He was 12 years and 10 months old, setting another new US record.
Winning a World Championship
In November 2012, Samuel won the World Champion title in the Under-12 category. This was at the World Youth Chess Championships in Slovenia.
Playing in the U.S. Chess Championship
In May 2013, Samuel was invited to play in the U.S. Chess Championship in St. Louis. He was the youngest player ever to compete in this event. He scored 4 out of 9 points. This placed him in 14th place, ahead of several grandmasters.
Achieving Grandmaster Status
In November 2014, Samuel Sevian became a Grandmaster. He was 13 years, 10 months, and 27 days old. This set a new US record for the youngest grandmaster. He had already completed the necessary "norms" (high-level performances) at three tournaments earlier that year. He then reached a FIDE rating of over 2500, which was the final requirement. He won the Saint Louis GM Norm Invitational tournament with a great score of 7½ out of 9 points.
Major Tournaments and Achievements
Samuel has competed in many important chess tournaments around the world.
Tata Steel and US Chess Championship
In January 2015, he played in the Tata Steel Challengers event. He finished in a shared fifth place. Later that year, he also shared fifth place in the US Chess Championship 2015. During this event, he defeated Wesley So, who was one of the top ten players in the world. He also drew games against strong players like Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky.
Chess World Cup Appearances
His performance in the US Chess Championship earned him a spot in the Chess World Cup 2015. He drew both of his regular games against Teimour Radjabov in the first round. However, he was eliminated in the faster "rapid" playoff games.
In June 2017, Samuel won the American Continental Chess Championship in Colombia. He scored 8½ out of 11 points. Winning this big tournament at age 16 made him the youngest American Continental Champion ever. In September 2017, he played in the Chess World Cup 2017. He won his first-round match but was defeated in the second round.
He also participated in the Chess World Cup 2019. He won his first-round match but was eliminated in the second round. In 2019, Samuel represented the US National Team at the World Team Championship in Kazakhstan. He won a bronze medal for his individual performance.
In 2021, he played in the Chess World Cup 2021. He won his first two matches but was defeated in the third round by the player who eventually won the entire tournament.
Recent Successes
Also in 2021, Samuel finished in the top three at the United States Championship. He had the same score as Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So. His performance rating was very high, showing how well he played.
In April 2022, Samuel played in the first American Cup. This was a special tournament where players could be eliminated twice. He defeated Wesley So in a regular match. He was later knocked out by Fabiano Caruana in rapid tiebreak games. He was finally eliminated by Ray Robson. This tournament pushed his FIDE rating above 2700 for the first time! In 2023, he won the annual Chess9LX event hosted by the St Louis Chess Club.
About Samuel's Family
Samuel Sevian was born in Corning, New York. His parents, Armine and Armen Sevian, are both of Armenian heritage. His father, Armen, was a "candidate master" in chess when he lived in Soviet Armenia. He moved to the United States in 1996 to study for his PhD. As of 2015, Samuel's father was a main scientist for a company that makes lasers near Boston.
