Stuart Rachels (born September 26, 1969) is an American

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

International 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 (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

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 ...

. He is the son of the philosopher

James Rachels James Webster Rachels (May 30, 1941 – September 5, 2003) was an American philosopher who specialized in ethics and animal rights. Biography Rachels was born in Columbus, Georgia, and graduated from Mercer University in 1962. He received his Ph ...

(1941–2003). He tied for first place in the 1989–90 U.S. Chess Championship. His

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 ...

rating is 2451 and his USCF rating is 2525.

Biography

Rachels grew up in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. He received a B.A. in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, with highest honors, from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in 1991, another B.A., in philosophy and

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

, from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 1993 on a

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarsh ...

, and a Ph.D. from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1998. In 1981, at the age of 11 years and 10 months, he became the youngest

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 ...

in U.S. history, a record that stood until 1994. He won the United States Junior Invitational Championship in 1988. His greatest chess achievement was tying for first place in the 1989–90 U.S. Championship with grandmasters Roman Dzindzichashvili and

Yasser Seirawan Yasser Seirawan (; born March 24, 1960) is a Syrian-born American chess grandmaster and four-time United States Chess Championship, United States champion. He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1979. Seirawan is also a published chess au ...

. This qualified him to play in the 1990

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Interzonal Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE from the 1950s to the 1990s. They were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the Ca ...

, where he achieved a respectable score of 6 points out of 13 games. Rachels and John Grefe, the 1973 U.S. co-champion, are the only players since 1948 to win or share the U.S. Championship who did not become grandmasters.

awarded him the International Master title, and he also received the equivalent of two grandmaster norms, one short of the number needed for the title. Rachels retired from chess in 1993, but later came back in late 2024. In 2020, New in Chess published his book ''The Best I Saw in Chess''; it was recognized by the Chess Journalists of America as that year's "Best Book, Other" and was shortlisted in the

English Chess Federation The English Chess Federation (ECF) is the governing chess organisation in England. It is affiliated to FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an internation ...

"Book of the Year" competition. In 1999, Rachels became an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

in the Philosophy Department at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in Tuscaloosa,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. In 2004, he was promoted to

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

. He has released later editions of some of his father's books, notably ''

The Elements of Moral Philosophy ''The Elements of Moral Philosophy'' is a 1986 ethics textbook by the philosophers James Rachels and Stuart Rachels. It explains a number of moral theories and topics, including cultural relativism, subjectivism, divine command theory, ethical e ...

'' and ''Problems from Philosophy''.

Notable game

Kudrin vs. Rachels; U.S. Championship, Long Beach 1989:
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.g3 g6 7.Nde2 Bd7 8.Bg2 Qc8 9.Nd5 Bg7 10.0-0 Nxd5 11.exd5 Ne5 12.a4 Bh3 13.Ra2 h5 14.Bxh3 Qxh3 15.f3 g5 16.Kh1 Bf6 17.b3 Qf5 18.Nd4 Qg6 19.c4 g4 20.Rg2 h4 21.gxh4 Rxh4 22.f4 Nd7 23.Nb5 0-0-0 24.Nxa7+ Kb8 25.Be3 Rdh8 26.Qe1 g3 27.Qa5 Rxh2+ 28.Rxh2 Qe4+ 29.Kg1 Qxe3+

Selected publications

*. '' Utilitas'', Vol. 21, Issue 4 (December 2009), pp. 506–520.
''Vegetarianism''
In Tom L. Beauchamp and R. G. Frey. (2011). ''The Oxford Handbook of Animal Ethics''. Oxford University Press.

Notes

External links

* * * * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rachels, Stuart 1969 births Living people American chess players American vegetarianism activists Chess International Masters Emory University alumni Sportspeople from Birmingham, Alabama University of Alabama faculty Philosophers from Alabama Alumni of the University of Oxford Syracuse University alumni