International Master (IM) Ben Li – Did not participate in 2023 Pan-Am.GM David Brodsky – The University of Texas at Dallas.GM Praveen Balakrishnan – University of Chicago.GM Brandon Jacobson – Did not participate in 2023 Pan-Am.GM Awonder Liang – University of Chicago.Grandmaster (GM) Hans Niemann – Did not participate in 2023 Pan-Am.The lowest-rated player on this list is rated around 2300 US Chess. If the player has a FIDE title, that title is listed before their name. If a university offers full-ride chess scholarships, then its name is in boldface and linked to its chess program website. The list below indicates what university each player competed for or if they did not participate in the 2023 Pan-Am. Top United States players ages 19 or 20 during the 2023 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship (Pan-Am), January 5–8. Thanks to William Root for researching the lists presented next. For that reason, the 18-year-old players’ list is presented after the list for 19- and 20-year-old chess players. Players who are 18 years old might still be in high school (12 th grade) rather than in college. The Pan-Am is the most important annual college chess competition in the Americas. Some may not be attending college, and others might attend universities that did not send teams to the 2023 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship (Pan-Am). Players who are 19 and 20 years old are college age. While some U.S.-born top chess players accept full-ride college chess scholarships, others attend academically top-tier universities, such as Harvard University, that do not offer chess scholarships. Current GenerationĬurrently, universities offering college chess scholarships end up with mostly international students on their teams’ rosters. In addition to his work at Chessable, he has educated thousands about chess through his YouTube videos. To give just one example, Chessable co-founder John Bartholomew (Minnesota) had a full-ride college chess scholarship to The University of Texas at Dallas and graduated from that institution. U.S.-born players have also accepted full-ride college chess scholarships. Champions Yury Shulman, Alex Onischuk, and Wesley So also came to the U.S. Women’s Chess Champions (Nazi Paikidze and Sabina Foisor) came to the U.S. While players with FIDE (International Chess Federation) titles are most likely to be awarded full-ride college chess scholarships, players with ratings as low as 2300 US Chess have been awarded these scholarships. universities offer full-ride college chess scholarships.

Full-ride scholarships cover four years of college expenses, including tuition, fees, books, housing, and meals.

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