Yasser Seirawan

Yasser Seirawan is a Syrian-American chess Grandmaster and one of the most respected figures in American chess. Born in Damascus on March 24, 1960, he moved to Seattle at age seven and learned chess at 12. Despite the late start, he rose rapidly through the ranks, winning the World Junior Championship in 1979 and his first US Championship in 1981.

Seirawan won the US Championship four times (1981, 1986, 1989, 2000) and represented the United States on ten Olympiad teams, earning an individual gold medal in 1994. He holds victories against five World Champions: Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov, and Garry Kasparov. He is an inductee of the US Chess Hall of Fame.

Beyond competitive play, Seirawan is a prolific chess author with several acclaimed instructional books. In 2007, he introduced Seirawan Chess (also called S-Chess), a variant adding two new pieces: the hawk and the elephant. In 2023, he was named Chief Commentator and Spokesperson for the Saint Louis Chess Club, where his warm, articulate commentary style has made him a favorite among viewers worldwide.

Seirawan also serves as Chess Head Coach at Lindenwood University, continuing his lifelong commitment to chess education and the growth of the game in America.