Joel Benjamin is an American chess grandmaster. In 1998, he was voted "Grandmaster of the Year" by the U.S. Chess Federation., his Elo rating was 2506, making him the No. 54 player in the U.S. and the 888th-highest rated player in the world.
Life and career
Benjamin is a native of Brooklyn, New York City, and grew up in the Marine Park neighborhood, where he attended PS 207. He was in the class for "intellectually gifted children". He is now a New Jersey resident, married to Deborah, and they have two children, Aidan and Amy. He graduated from Yale University with a major in history in 1985. He became the youngest-ever U.S. chess master at age 13, a record previously held by Bobby Fischer. This record was broken by Stuart Rachels and is now held by Samuel Sevian. As a junior, he won the National Elementary championship, the National Junior High championship, and the National High School championship. Other successes included the U.S. Junior Championship in 1980. In the same year he earned the International Master title. He won the U.S. Junior Championship again in 1982, and the U.S. Open Chess Championship in 1985. He earned the Grandmaster title in 1986. Benjamin was the U.S. Chess Champion in 1987, in 1997, and in 2000. He won the Saint John Open I in 1988, and the 2000 Canadian Open Chess Championship. In 1999, he placed first at the QVB Chess Festival in Sydney. He was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in Miami on May 2, 2008. He is the youngest inductee. Benjamin is known for playing offbeat openings such as the Black Knights' Tango, and for converting very small advantages into a win. He co-authored Unorthodox Openings along with Eric Schiller, for Batsford publishers in 1987, is a frequent contributor to Chess Life magazine and other chess periodicals, and is a regular commentator on the Internet Chess Club, usually presenting its Game of the Week webcast. He was also the editor-in-chief and founder of the now defunct magazine Chess Chow from 1991 to 1994. His book American Grandmaster: Four Decades of Chess Adventures was a biographical work about his chess career. His latest book is Liquidation on the Chess Board: Mastering the Transition into the Pawn Ending. He is also a frequent contributor to Chess Life Online articles on the USCF website. Benjamin was hired as the official grandmaster consultant by IBM to help with the Deep Blue chess computer that defeated World ChampionGarry Kasparov in 1997. Benjamin appeared in the movies Searching for Bobby Fischer and .
