Jeffery Xiong

Jeffery Xiong of Coppell, Texas, is the highest ranked player in the world under the age of 18. He has shown tenacity and maturity in chess well beyond his years. He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 2016 at the age of 15, which was the first time an American chess player has won in 2 decades. He is also the youngest winner of the Chicago Open Chess Championship in history. He was awarded the prestigious Samford Chess Fellowship in 2017. He has represented the USA in the 2017 World Team Championship and FIDE World Cup.

From a very young age, Xiong has seen his losses, though painful, as an opportunity to improve. While some of Xiong's older competitors have been known to display their frustration with difficult losses, he remains collected—analyzing where his play could have been stronger.