Andy Woodward

Andy Woodward, born in Frisco, Texas, in 2010,
is an American chess grandmaster and one of the leading talents of his generation.
He earned his final grandmaster norm in January 2024 at the age of 13 years, eight months and 28 days,
becoming the second-youngest American ever to qualify for the title.
In 2025, Woodward won the US Junior Championship and made his debut at the US Championship.
That same year, he tied for fifth place at the FIDE Grand Swiss, defeating several leading grandmasters
and achieving a tournament performance rating of 2784.
In 2026, he won the Challengers section of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament with ten points from 13 games,
earning a place in the 2027 Masters.
Woodward reached a peak rating of 2638 in June 2026.
Particularly renowned for his exceptional speed and tactical ability in online chess,
he has set rating records in bullet and won the 2026 Hyperbullet Championship.
In June 2026, he made his debut as a ChessBase author with the training course The Bulletproof 1.b3 Repertoire.