Tal Shaked

Who is Tal Shaked?

Tal Shaked is an American chess grandmaster, who is best known for winning the World Junior Championship in 1997.

Shaked learned the game at the age of seven, and developed his chess skills in the scholastic chess organizations of Tucson, Arizona. As a junior, Shaked won several national scholastic championships, including the 1987 National Primary Championship, the 1990 National Elementary Championship, the 1991 National K-8 Championship, the 1992 National K-8 Championship, the 1992 U.S. Cadet Championship, and the 1995 U.S. Junior Championship; he also won the 1995 National Open. Shaked won the Laura Aspis Prize in 1991 as the number-one rated American chess player under the age of 13, and that same year became the youngest ever winner of the Arizona State Championship.

Shaked's victory at the 1995 US Junior Championship granted him a place in the 1996 U.S. Chess Championship. Although he was by far the youngest and lowest-rated player in the field, he surprised many by his performance, leading the tournament after eight rounds. Later in 1996, Shaked received the Frank Samford fellowship, which allowed him the monetary resources to fully devote his time to chess. Making the most of the opportunity, Shaked obtained three grandmaster norms within five months, officially attaining the title of grandmaster; it would be ten years later until another American-born player would achieve the grandmaster title. Two months after his third norm, Shaked won the 1997 World Junior Championship, defeating top-seed and future super-grandmaster Alexander Morozevich and scoring a total of six wins and seven draws to beat out Morozevich, future FIDE world chess champion Ruslan Ponomariov and others.