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Samuel Sevian
Biography
Samuel Sevian was born on 26 December 2000 in Corning, New York, to Armine and Armen Sevian; his father held the candidate master title in Soviet Armenia before immigrating to the United States. Sevian set a string of national age records as a child, becoming the youngest USCF Expert in December 2009 at 8 years 2 months, and the youngest-ever National Master a year later at 9 years, 11 months and 23 days. He won the U12 World Youth Chess Championship in Maribor, Slovenia, in November 2012, took the International Master title in November 2013 at 12 years 10 months, and was awarded the grandmaster title in November 2014 at 13 years, 10 months and 27 days — a new United States record at the time.
He backed up the record-breaking with results: he was the youngest-ever participant in the 2013 U.S. Championship, sharing 14th on 4/9, then shared 5th in the 2015 edition. In June 2017, at 16, he won the American Continental Chess Championship in Medellín, Colombia, with 8½/11, becoming its youngest-ever champion. At the 2021 U.S. Championship he tied for first place with Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So on 6.5/11 and a 2747 performance rating, before finishing third after a rapid tiebreak that So won.
Sevian made his debut for the United States national team at the 2019 World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, where he won an individual bronze medal on board two with an undefeated 5/8. He has since won the Stepan Avagyan Memorial twice, in 2023 (6/9) and 2026, and has competed in five editions of the Chess World Cup (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2025).
Key achievements
- U12 World Youth Chess Champion, 2012
- Youngest American grandmaster at the time, age 13 (November 2014)
- Youngest-ever American Continental Chess Champion, 2017
- Tied for first at the 2021 U.S. Championship with a 2747 performance rating
- Individual bronze medal, board two, 2019 World Team Championship
Ratings
| Date | Milestone | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2014 | Grandmaster title — youngest American at the time (age 13) | — |
| 2017 | American Continental Chess Champion (age 16) | — |
| 2021 | Tied for 1st, U.S. Championship | 2747 perf. |
| Sep 2026 | Current rating — also career peak | 2708 |
Titles
| Title | Details | Year |
|---|---|---|
| U12 | U12 World Youth Chess Champion, Maribor | 2012 |
| IM | International Master, age 12 | 2013 |
| GM | Grandmaster — youngest American at the time, age 13 | 2014 |
| Am. Cont. | American Continental Chess Champion (8½/11) | 2017 |
Classical Tournaments
| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | U.S. Championship — youngest-ever participant | T-14th (4/9) |
| 2015 | U.S. Championship | T-5th |
| 2021 | U.S. Championship — 3rd after rapid tiebreak | T-1st (6.5/11) |
| 2023 | Stepan Avagyan Memorial | 1st (6/9) |
| 2026 | Stepan Avagyan Memorial | 1st |
Team Events
| Year | Event (Board) | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | World Team Championship, Astana (Board 2) — individual bronze | 5/8 |
Sevian has not yet represented the United States at a Chess Olympiad; his 2019 World Team Championship appearance is his only senior national-team result to date, per Wikipedia.
Read more on Wikipedia or view his FIDE profile.