Alice Lee - Young Chess Prodigies
In this edition of ChessKid Spotlight, we shine a light on one of the most talented teens in chess, Alice Lee!Learn All About Alice:
Who is Alice Lee?
The 15-year-old international master (IM), woman grandmaster (WGM), and ChessKid ambassador got her start at age six, playing in her school's chess club. Not even two years later, Alice reached a rating of 2000! In her journey, Alice played in various prestigious events, such as the Women's American Cup. In the 2022 and 2023 events, she placed second. Her 2024 appearance saw her defeat one of the strongest Grandmasters in the event, GM Irina Krush, to secure a first place victory. And in 2025, Alice maintained her status as the defending champion with another first place finish!
At 13, she competed in the U.S. Junior Championships, placing first and being the youngest ever to do so! She competed again in 2024 and was able to defend her title. At 14, Alice brought Team USA to its first medal in sixteen years by scoring an impressive 8/10 in the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest. The team earned a bronze medal, and Alice earned the silver medal for board 4.
Alice is also the youngest American female player to reach International Master at 13 years and 7 months, beating Carissa Yip's previous record of 16 years and 1 month. She reached WGM and IM at the same time, at the 2023 Canadian Transnational Championship.
Nationally, Alice is ranked number-one among girls under 21 and number-two among women overall.
Alice Lee is the third American-born (and youngest ever) woman to become an International Master.
As a ChessKid ambassador, Alice has starred in her own show, "Alice's Pawn Palace", challenging ChessKids with commentary from FunMasterMike. She recently defeated both GM Naroditsky and GM Giri in the most recent episodes of Kids vs. Stars.
Catch Alice in action here as she battles ChessKids!
How ChessKid Met Alice…
During the 2020 ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship, a blitz event for players 10 and under, a player withdrew in the Semifinals. To keep the tournament going, an extra player was needed, and that player just so happened to be Alice Lee! Although she was a new player to these ChessKid events, she quickly became a crowd favorite with her increasing talent and accomplishments.
Watch Alice's ChessKid debut at 10-years-old here!
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FunMasterMike Says…
"Alice is the most talented American teenage girl in the history of the U.S. Not only is she setting records for 'youngest this' and 'youngest that,' she is also a star on broadcasts and great to work with. Recently she beat two strong grandmasters in ChessKid events and stayed gracious during interviews, just like she did at the last Olympiad where her clutch final-round draw got the American women a bronze medal. She's everything we could ever want in a ChessKid ambassador!"
Alice shows off her gold medal from the 2019 World Cadet U-10 Girls. Photo courtesy of the Lee family.
Congratulations to Alice on all of her achievements! We at ChessKid can't wait to see what you accomplish next!