28 Facts About Sam Shankland

Samuel L Shankland was born on October 1,1991 and is an American chess grandmaster.

Sam Shankland won bronze at the 2008 World U18 Championship, and was US Junior Champion in 2010.

Sam Shankland earned his international master title in 2008 and his grandmaster title in 2011.

Sam Shankland surpassed a FIDE rating of 2600 in 2012, and entered the world's top 100 players in 2014.

Sam Shankland was part of the team at the 42nd Chess Olympiad, where the United States won team gold for the first time in forty years.

Sam Shankland was born in Berkeley, California, to Leslie and Jim Sam Shankland.

Sam Shankland lived there until he was four, when his brother was born and the family moved to Orinda.

Sam Shankland's father taught him how to play chess at the age of 6, but he did not give the game much attention until he joined the chess club at Glorietta Elementary School in fourth grade.

Sam Shankland quickly surpassed the level of chess at Glorietta, and began playing in tournaments by the age of 11.

Sam Shankland began his rise to prominence in 2008, winning the Pacific Coast Open and the California State Championship.

Sam Shankland made his international debut at the World Youth Chess Championship under-18 section, where he tied for first place with Ivan Saric and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, taking home the bronze medal on tiebreak score and earning the title of International Master.

In January 2011, Sam Shankland earned the title of Grandmaster at the Berkeley International.

Sam Shankland finished third in the 2011 US Chess Championship, after first defeating Alexander Onischuk in a playoff game, and then Robert Hess in an Armageddon match.

Sam Shankland won the Northern California International ahead of strong GMs Georg Meier, Alejandro Ramirez, Yury Shulman, and Bartlomiej Macieja.

In 2013, Sam Shankland made his debut for the US national team at the Pan American Team Chess Championship in Campinas, Brazil, leading them to victory with a performance rating over 2800.

Sam Shankland clinched first place at the ZMDI Open in Dresden, Germany, edging out on tiebreak score Mikhailo Oleksienko and Georg Meier.

In round 8, Sam Shankland defeated legendary GM Judit Polgar in her last professional game.

Sam Shankland shared first place at the American Continental Championship, qualifying him for the 2015 World Cup.

On December 14,2014, Sam Shankland broke into the top 100 chess players worldwide.

Sam Shankland competed in the 2015 Chess World Cup, where he defeated GM Ivan Popov in the first round, but lost in a tiebreak in the second round to GM Hikaru Nakamura.

In March 2016, Sam Shankland took first place in the Fagernes International.

In September, 2016, Sam Shankland played as fourth board for the United States at the 42nd Chess Olympiad, where the team earned gold for the first time since 1976.

Sam Shankland played the regular tournament with a performance rating of 2713.

Sam Shankland finished half a point, two points, and three points ahead of Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Hikaru Nakamura, respectively.

Sam Shankland took home $50,000 in prize money, and increased his rating to 2701 in the process, breaching the 2700 barrier for the first time in his career and becoming the seventh American to pass the 2700 barrier.

Sam Shankland drew his first ever game with World Champion Magnus Carlsen, and he defeated former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik in the final round.

Sam Shankland reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 FIDE World Cup, earning a spot in the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix.

Sam Shankland finished ninth in the standings with eight points.