Kangugi "K. K." Karanja (born November 23, 1973) is an American chess player and former

chess prodigy Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on a square board consisting of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, referred to ...

. He became a

US Chess Federation The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national rating sys ...

Candidate Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combinatio ...

at the age of 10."The Chess Drum's Historic Moments: Baraka Shabazz & K.K. Karanja"
/ref>

Career

Championships and awards

In 1985 at the age of 11, he won the National Elementary Chess Championship with a perfect 7–0 score (seven wins and no losses), becoming the first African-American to win a national scholastic title and the second African-American to win a national chess championship ( Frank Street Jr. was the first, winning the 1965 US Amateur Championship). In 1985, Karanja also received the

Laura Aspis Prize The Laura Aspis Prize (also referred to as the Aspis Prize or Aspis Award) was an award in the game of chess. Beginning in 1980, it was awarded annually to the number one ranked American chess player under the age of 13 by the nonprofit educationa ...

, granted annually to the top USCF-rated player under the age of 13. Karanja qualified as the United States representative for the 1986 World Under-14 Chess Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1987, Karanja was selected to the inaugural All-America Chess Team, which recognizes the top 0.1-0.2 percent of chess players age 18 years and younger. Karanja also qualified for the 1987 U.S. Cadet Championship where only the top eight players under age 16 are invited to compete.

Other events and achievements

In 1988, Karanja was selected to participate in a

simultaneous exhibition A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition (commonly chess or Go) in which one player (typically of high rank, such as a grandmaster or dan-level player) plays multiple games at a time with a number of other pl ...

held by Grandmaster and

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...

in New York, during Kasparov's first visit to America. Of the 59 players to compete against Kasparov, only Karanja and fellow prodigy

Josh Waitzkin Joshua Waitzkin (born December 4, 1976) is an American former chess player, martial arts world champion, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film ''Searching ...

held Kasparov to draws (the other 57 players lost). In 1989, at the age of 15 years and 7 months, Karanja became a

chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...

, becoming the second youngest African-American at the time to achieve that feat behind Howard Daniels (15 years, 4 months). He subsequently attended

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

.The Chess Drum: "A Friend Reflects on KK Karanja" July 26, 2003
/ref> A sample of Karanja's ability is evidenced in the followin

from the 1987 United States Cadet Chess Championship.Karanja-Seltzer
/ref>

Retirement

Karanja retired from tournament play in 1990 with a rating of 2193. Karanja has written one book on chess and while living in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

was active in promoting chess.

References

External links

USCF info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karanja, K. K. 1973 births Post–civil rights era in African-American history Living people American chess players Chess players from New York City