GMSamuel Sevian

Samuel Sevian was born in Corning, New York, in 2000 to parents of Armenian heritage. His father had been a candidate master in Soviet Armenia. Samuel began playing at five and became the youngest U.S. national master in 2010, shortly before his tenth birthday. He won the world under-12 championship in 2012. The following year, he became the youngest participant in the U.S. Championship and received the international master title. In 2014, at thirteen, he became the youngest American grandmaster at that time.

Sevian won the 2017 American Continental Championship in Medellín at sixteen. He earned individual bronze on board two at the 2019 World Team Championship. In 2021, he shared first in the U.S. Championship with Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So, before So won the playoff. He won the Stepan Avagyan Memorial in 2023. That year he also won Saint Louis's Chess9LX event, played with randomized starting positions. At the 2025 World Cup, he reached the fifth round before losing to eventual runner-up Wei Yi.