Awonder Liang Makes Master

Woo woo!  Great news for the young chessplayer from Madison, Wisconsin.  Awonder often plays in the Southwest Chess Club (my adopted chess club) Hales Corners Challenge events.  I had the pleasure of meeting and having a nice conversation Awonder's dad a few years ago at one of the HCChallenges (it may have been Challenge XIII). 

Published March 26, 2013, 12:49 PM

9-year-old Wisconsin boy youngest American chess master

Awonder Liang (front), at the Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIII, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, April 16, 2011, with Allen Becker, Tom Fogec and Robin Grohowski.
Awonder made Expert Level as a result of his score in this event, 2 years ago!

A 9-year-old Madison boy has become the youngest American to reach the rank of chess master.
By: Associated Press staff, Wisconsin State Journal

MADISON, Wis. — A 9-year-old Madison boy has become the youngest American to reach the rank of chess master.

The United States Chess Federation has certified that Awonder Liang has earned more than 2,200 points, or master status, while playing at a weekend tournament in Dayton, Ohio.

Federation rater Walter Brown says the fourth-grader is a week younger than the previous record holder, a California boy who set the mark in 2010.

The Wisconsin State Journal says points toward master status are earned most quickly by beating better competition. Liang became a chess prodigy when he defeated a grandmaster, the highest rated player in the game, when he was 8.

Brown says Liang currently is the 10th-best player overall in Wisconsin.