Kayden Troff

Last updated

Kayden Troff
Full nameKayden William Troff
CountryUnited States
Born (1998-05-06) May 6, 1998 (age 26)
Murray, Utah
Title Grandmaster (2014)
FIDE   rating 2490 (November 2024)
Peak rating 2556 (May 2015)

Kayden William Troff (born May 6, 1998) is an American chess grandmaster. He was World U14 Chess Champion in 2012.

Contents

Personal life

Troff lives in West Jordan, Utah, with his parents Kim and Daniel, sister Brynndi, and brothers Jeremy and Zachary Troff. [1]

Early years

He first demonstrated chess ability at the age of three, having learned to play by watching his father. [2] [3] When Troff turned six, he spent a week training with Grandmaster Igor Ivanov. [4] He has also been trained by Melikset Khachiyan and Alexander Chernin.

Troff first won a Utah State Elementary Championship at the age of six and won first place in his section in the Utah State Elementary Championship each year after. [5]

In December 2007, he was named to the United States Chess Federation's 2008 All-America Chess Team; and at age 10, he was named in the 2010 All-America Chess Team, an honor described as "one of the highest national honors attainable by a young chess player". [6] On December 14, 2008, he won second place at the fifth-grade level at the National K–12 Championships. [7] [8]

In 2009, Troff won the Utah Speed Chess Championship [9] at age ten, becoming the youngest player to win that event. [10] This was followed up by becoming Utah G/60 Champion, the youngest player to do so. [11] [12] After this win, the tournament director dubbed him "Utah's Mozart of Chess." [13] He also won the 2009 North American Youth Championship for under-12s in Mazatlán. [14] [15]

Troff's quick rating was the highest of all US players under the age of 13, according to the Top 100 rating list published by the USCF from June 2009 through October 2010. [16] In May 2010, he defeated Harold Stevens, Utah's then-highest-rated player, in a match, winning all three games. In October 2010, he won the Utah Open tournament.

Notable accomplishments

Troff won the world championship for ages 14 and under in Maribor, Slovenia, in 2012. He also won the silver medal for ages 12 and under at the World Youth Chess Championships in Greece in 2010, behind future grandmaster Wei Yi.

Having already obtained the three GM Norms needed, he reached 2500 Elo rating to earn the Grandmaster title at the Saint Louis Invitational in May 2014, at age 16. [17]

In June 2014, Troff became US Junior Chess Champion, scoring 7/9 points. [18]

Twitch streaming

In June 2023, Troff began streaming chess gameplay on Twitch under the name ChessSharkz. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Chess Federation</span> US governing body for chess competition

The United States Chess Federation is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national rating system, awards national titles, sanctions over twenty national championships annually, and publishes two magazines: Chess Life and Chess Life Kids. The USCF was founded and incorporated in Illinois in 1939, from the merger of two older chess organizations. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its membership as of 2020 as COVID hit was 97,000; as of 2024 the membership was 112,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Finegold</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1969)

Benjamin Philip Finegold is an American chess grandmaster and YouTuber/Twitch streamer. He had previously been nicknamed the "strongest International Master in the United States" until receiving his Grandmaster (GM) title in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Ivanov (chess player)</span> Soviet-American chess grandmaster (born 1956)

Alexander Vladimirovich Ivanov is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster. Born in Omsk, present-day Russia, he moved to the United States in 1988. FIDE awarded him his grandmaster title in 1991. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, fellow chess player and Woman International Master Esther Epstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hess (chess player)</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1991)

Robert Lee Hess is an American chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 2009. In May 2012, his FIDE rating was 2635, fifth in the United States. Hess is a commentator for Chess.com, covering events such as the World Chess Championship and Candidates Tournament. He also streams chess content on his Twitch channel GMHess, which has 73,000+ followers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship</span>

The Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship is the foremost intercollegiate team chess championship in the Americas. Hosted in part by the United States Chess Federation, the Pan-Am Intercollegiate is open to any team comprising four players and up to two alternates from the same post-secondary school in North America, Central America, South America, or the Caribbean. The Pan-Am began as such in 1946, and is held annually, usually December 27–30. It has usually been held in the United States, but was hosted in Canada four times. The current format is a six-round fixed-roster team Swiss-system tournament scored by team points. Sometimes the Pan Am Intercollegiate is held as part of a larger event called the Pan American Chess Championship comprising the Pan-Am Intercollegiate, Pan-Am Scholastic Team Championship, and Pan-Am Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asa Hoffmann</span> American chess player (born 1943)

Asa Hoffmann is a FIDE Master in chess, chess teacher and author from the United States of America. He is known as "the sparring partner of champions". His peak regular USCF rating is 2471, his peak quick rating is 2515 and his peak blitz rating is 2414.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Polgar</span> Hungarian chess grandmaster (born 1969)

Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess grandmaster. Polgár was Women's World Chess Champion from 1996 to 1999. On FIDE's Elo rating system list of July 1984, at the age of 15, she became the top-ranked female chess player in the world. In 1991, she became the third woman to be awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE. She won eleven medals at the Women's Chess Olympiad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shinsaku Uesugi</span> Japanese chess player

Shinsaku Uesugi is a Japanese chess player who holds the title of FIDE master. He won the 40th Japanese Chess Championship in May 2007 and became the youngest ever national champion. He also played for Japan at the 38th Chess Olympiad in November 2008 and became co-champion of the U.S. National High School Championship in April 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Sevian</span> Armenian-American chess grandmaster (born 2000)

Samuel Sevian is an American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned the grandmaster title at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 27 days, making him the youngest ever American grandmaster at the time. He also broke all US age records in reaching the titles of National and International Master.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Shankland</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1991)

Samuel L. Shankland is an American chess grandmaster. He won the U.S. Chess Championship in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awonder Liang</span> American chess grandmaster (born 2003)

Awonder Liang is an American chess Grandmaster. A chess prodigy in his youth, he was the third-youngest American to qualify for the title of Grandmaster, at the age of 14. Liang was twice world champion in his age category.

Rochelle Ballantyne is an American chess player. She is best known for appearing in the 2012 documentary Brooklyn Castle. Her USCF rating is 1988, putting her in the 99th percentile of American junior players. Her FIDE rating is 1912, with her highest rating achieved being 1954 in January 2012. According to the USCF's rating system, she is currently an "Expert" or "Candidate Master."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akshat Chandra</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1999)

Akshat Chandra is an American chess player. He started playing Chess during a visit to India in 2009 when he was nine years old. In 2015, he won the US National K-12 Championship and was also the US Junior Champion, the first time both titles were held by the same person in a single year. He earned the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in March 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Bonin</span> American chess player

Jay Richard Bonin is an American International Master in chess, chess teacher, author and lecturer. He is known as the "Iron Man of Chess" and is among the most active tournament players in the US, having played over 25,000 tournament games.

Mackenzie "Mac" Molner is an American chess grandmaster and chess instructor. Chess coach Michael Khodarkovsky helped Molner develop his competitive chess play. Molner won the Denker Tournament of High School Champions as a sophomore in 2004. He completed his final grandmaster norm in 2013, tying for first in the U.S. Open Chess Championship, held near Madison, Wisconsin that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aravindh Chithambaram</span> Indian chess grandmaster (born 1999)

Aravindh Chithambaram Veerappan is an Indian chess grandmaster. He won the Indian chess championships twice, in 2018 and 2019.

Carissa Shiwen Yip is an American chess player and the winner of the 2021, 2023, and 2024 U.S. Women's Chess Championship. In September 2019, she was the top rated female player in the United States and the youngest female chess player to defeat a grandmaster, which she did at age ten. In October 2019, she became the youngest American woman in history to qualify for the title of International Master until surpassed by Alice Lee in June 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abhimanyu Mishra</span> American chess grandmaster (born 2009)

Abhimanyu Mishra is an American chess grandmaster and chess prodigy. He is the youngest player to attain the grandmaster title, having obtained it at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days. Along with the feat of becoming the youngest GM in history, Mishra also holds or has held additional "youngest" chess performance titles and records.

Enrico Sevillano is a Filipino and American chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in September 2012. He plays for the United States Chess Federation (USCF) where he has a Regular Rating of 2542, Quick Rating of 2488 and Blitz Rating of 2572. He is ranked #112 among all players in the US, #72 among all active players, #235 in the American Continent and #1796 among all players in the world. Per FIDE, he reached a peak rating of 2537 and currently has an ELO standard rating of 2447 and blitz rating of 2515.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Rosen (chess player)</span> American chess player

Eric Rosen is an American chess player. He was awarded the FIDE Master title in 2011 and the International Master title in 2015. Rosen began playing chess as a child with his father and brother and became the United States Chess Federation (USCF) K12 national champion in 2011. While attending the University of Illinois, Rosen was on the chess team that secured a spot at the President's Cup in 2013 and 2014.

References

  1. "Chess champ a ripe ol' 9". Deseret News. December 7, 2007. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  2. "Kayden's Story". Kaydensstory.blogspot.com. February 26, 2004. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  3. Whitney, Susan (December 7, 2007). "Chess champ a ripe ol' 9". Deseret News. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  4. "LDS Church News - Chess champ: State's top player is an 11-year-old Mormon boy". Church News . November 14, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  5. "2006 Utah Chess Champions". www.utahchess.com. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  6. Stettler, Jeremiah (November 30, 2007). "Nine-year-old chess phenom chosen for 2008 All-American Team". The Salt Lake Tribune . Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  7. "2008 National K-12 Championship Orlando, Florida" . Retrieved February 17, 2009.
  8. Murguia, Maria (February 1, 2009). "Ten-Year-Old West Jordan Boy Wins Utah Speed Chess Championship Title". Fox News/KSTU-TV. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
  9. "USCF MSA – Cross Table for UTAH SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP (Event 200901246871)". Uschess.org. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  10. Bruce, Becky (January 26, 2009). "ksl.com – 10-year-old making splash in the chess world". www.ksl.com. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  11. "USCF MSA – Cross Table for UTAH GAME/60 (Event 200903144711)". Uschess.org. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  12. Butterfield, Amanda (March 16, 2009). "10-Year Old Wins State Chess Championship". KSL News/KSL.com.
  13. Leonard, Wendy (March 16, 2009). "Utah Chess King is just 10 years old". Deseret News. Archived from the original on April 19, 2009.
  14. Confederación De Ajedrez Para América. "Confederación De Ajedrez Para América". Fideamerica.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  15. "Akron Chess Club, Largest Northeastern Ohio Chess Club, Learn about Chess, Study Chess Canton Chess, Cleveland Chess". Akronchessclub.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  16. "The United States Chess Federation". Main.uschess.org. June 13, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  17. Saint Louis Invitational, Troff earns GM Title http://saintlouischessclub.org/news/2014-06-03/sevian-homa-earn-norms-saint-louis Archived 2014-06-05 at archive.today
  18. US Chess Championships Official Page http://uschesschamps.com/
  19. ChessSharkz - Twitch , retrieved February 5, 2024