Andy Woodward (chess player)

Last updated

Andy Woodward
CountryUnited States
Born (2010-05-02) May 2, 2010 (age 14) [1]
Frisco, Texas
Title Grandmaster (2024)
FIDE   rating 2544 (January 2025)
Peak rating 2545 (August 2024)

Andy Austin Woodward is an American chess grandmaster and prodigy.

Chess career

Woodward earned his first IM norm in the 2021 North American Junior Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina. He earned four more IM norms in Novi Sad, Serbia. [2] [3]

In October 2022, Woodward earned his first GM norm at the 1000GM Hollywood Masters with a score of 6.5/9, defeating grandmasters Illia Nyzhnyk and Gergely Kántor. [4] Right before this, he made into the knock out stage of the FIDE Fischer Random World Championship qualifiers as the youngest player. [5]

In January 2023, Woodward was named to the age 11 section of the All-America Chess Team. [6] He has been part of the All-America Chess Team since 2020.

In April 2023, Woodward earned his second GM norm at the Vezerkepzo GM April tournament with a score of 7.0/9, defeating GM Kaido Külaots and GM Valeriy Neverov. [7]

In September 2023, Woodward defeated Hans Niemann during their encounter in the World Junior Chess Championship. [8]

In December 2023, Woodward won the 17th Annual SPICE (Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence) Cup ahead of Aram Hakobyan, Yasser Quesada, and Safal Bora. Woodward's performance exceeded the 2600 requirement needed for a grandmaster norm, however did not qualify due to a lack of foreign opponents. [9]

In January 2024, Woodward made it to the finals of the Puzzle World Championship, but lost to defending champion Ray Robson. They met again in the final in 2025, and this time Andy prevailed. [10] [11]

On January 30, 2024, Woodward earned his final GM norm at the Jeddah International Chess Festival with a score of 6.0/9 after losing his first two rounds against Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş and Volodar Murzin. [1] [12] With this, he became one of the youngest in history to qualify for the title by fulfilling the requirements for the title at the age of 13 years, 8 months, and 28 days. [13] [14] He is also the second youngest grandmaster in U.S. history, only behind Abhimanyu Mishra. [15]

Woodward tied for first in the Saint Louis Summer Classic tournament in May, 2024. He tied for first again in the Universal Open tournament in June. A couple of weeks later, he won the Philidelphia International chess tournament. [16]

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References

  1. 1 2 Lang, JJ (February 1, 2024). "13-Year-Old Andy Woodward Earns Final GM Norm in Saudi Arabia".
  2. ↑ Esguerra, Jabe (October 17, 2022). "Andy Woodward – A Wonderkid In Every Sense Of The Word".
  3. ↑ "Andy Woodward: A Quest For My IM Title". November 8, 2022.
  4. ↑ https://chess-results.com/tnr678131.aspx?lan=1&art=9&fed=USA&turdet=YES&flag=30&snr=20
  5. ↑ "Lichess Qualifiers Send Nakamura and Abdusattorov to World Fischer Random Championship". October 7, 2022.
  6. ↑ "2023 US Chess Federation All-America Chess Team Announced". January 5, 2023.
  7. ↑ https://chess-results.com/tnr758591.aspx?lan=1&art=9&fed=USA&snr=2
  8. ↑ Keene, Raymond (September 30, 2023). "New skids on the block".
  9. ↑ "13-Year-Old Prodigy Wins SPICE Cup Tournament". January 2, 2024.
  10. ↑ Levin, Anthony (January 12, 2024). "14-Year-Old Woodward Rivals Robson As Prodigies Prosper".
  11. ↑ Levin, Anthony (January 12, 2024). "Ray Robson Wins 5th Consecutive Puzzles World Championship Title".
  12. ↑ "1st Jeddah International Chess Festival 2024 (Young Masters )".
  13. ↑ "Andy Woodward".
  14. ↑ "My student Andy Woodward is the youngest GM in the world!". January 30, 2024.
  15. ↑ Svensen, Tarjei (February 1, 2024). "Woodward World's Youngest GM; 12-Year-Old Erdogmus Closes In On Polgar's Record".
  16. ↑ "Philadelphia Internationalresults".
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