Praveen Balakrishnan (born May 21, 2002) is an American

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

grandmaster from

Centreville, Virginia Centreville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. It had a population of 73,518, making it the most-populous community in Fairfax County as of t ...

. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster (GM) by

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

in 2021, and he is a recipient of the 2021 Samford Fellowship. As of January 2022, he is ranked the 35th best player in the United States.

Education

Balakrishnan attended

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (also known as TJHSST, Thomas Jefferson, or TJ) is a Virginia magnet high school in Fairfax County, Virginia operated by Fairfax County Public Schools. The school occupies the building of t ...

. As of 2021, he is attending the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Chess career

Balakrishnan started playing chess when he was 5 years old. At the age of 10, he was awarded the National Master title by USCF. He represented the United States in World Youth Championships in Greece, Slovenia, and South Africa. By the age of 14, he had already received the title of International Master. In 2017, Balakrishnan won the Denker Tournament of High School Champions, and he defended his title in 2018. He is the only participant to win this tournament back-to-back since 1990. Balakrishnan won the gold medal at the 2019 North American Junior U20 Championship with a score of 7/9, earning him his 1st GM norm. He then earned his 2nd GM norm by tying for first place in the 2019

U.S. Masters Chess Championship The U.S. Masters Championship is an official national chess championship sanctioned by US Chess that has been held 27 times since 1982. The event is a Swiss tournament usually restricted to players who have established peak ratings over 2200, plus ...

with a score of 6.5/9. Balakrishnan tied for first place in the Charlotte Chess Center's Thanksgiving 2020 GM Norm Invitational with a score of 6.5/9, bringing his FIDE rating above 2500. He competed in the 2021 US Junior Championship, a round robin tournament with 10 of the best junior chess players in the United States, and he finished in a tie for 2nd place. In August 2021, Balakrishnan won 1st place at the Jesolo International Chess Festival in Jesolo, Italy, where he scored 7/9 and was a full point ahead of the rest of the field. This earned him his 3rd and final GM norm.

approved his Grandmaster title shortly afterwards in the 2021 3rd FIDE Council Meeting.

References

{{American chess grandmasters 2002 births Living people American sportspeople of Indian descent Chess Grandmasters Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology alumni Sportspeople from Irvine, California University of Chicago alumni 21st-century American chess players