Samuel Sevian of Santa Clara, Calif., has become the United States' youngest chess master ever. According to the San Jose Mercury News, the U.S. Chess Federation, the governing body of competitive chess, gave him a rating of 2,201 after the Dec. 11 match. A rating of 2,200 qualifies a player as a "national master." Samuel achieved the rating at the age of 9 years, 11 months and 15 days. Sevian's family is from Armenia, where chess players are often equated to rock stars. He beat the previous record holder for youngest chess master, Nicholas Nip of San Francisco, by 11 days. Who says youth is wasted on the young?
Read more at MSNBC.com.