Andy Woodward - Young Chess Prodigies
In this edition of ChessKid Spotlight, we'll introduce you to one of the youngest grandmasters in history: GM Andy Woodward!Learn All About Andy:
Who is Andy Woodward?
The 14-year-old prodigy and grandmaster superstar began his chess journey at a young age, competing in tournaments and quickly rising through the ranks. Andy joined the All-America Chess Team at the age of 10 and played in numerous international events. He became a FIDE master in 2021 after competing in the National Open and World Open and set his sights on breaking the international master barrier.
Andy reached the norm and rating requirement in only a year to earn the international master title. Around this time, Andy also earned his first grandmaster norm at the 1000GM Hollywood Masters, a notoriously strong and challenging event for titled players. In January 2024, Andy obtained his final GM norm, becoming a grandmaster at 13 years, 8 months, and 28 days. This makes Andy the second-youngest U.S. grandmaster in history!
Andy has participated in several ChessKid events, including Kids vs. Stars and the 2024 ChessKid Youth Championships. He also won Chess.com's 2025 Puzzles World Championship, an extremely challenging event consisting of a knockout bracket with eight players attempting to solve some of the hardest puzzles chess has to offer. In the event, he dethroned Ray Robson, who had won all previous puzzle events!
The moment Andy won the 2025 Puzzles World Championship!
Andy's Mom Says…
"We also want to express our gratitude for you [FunMasterMike] and ChessKid.com! Andy didn't have a private coach back in 2018. He had a ChessKid account and he studied every lesson from you (from Pawn level to King level) as quickly as he could. He was so excited whenever a new video course came out. So our family was very familiar with your voice :) He learned a lot from those lessons."
Andy and FunMasterMike at one of the first tournaments Andy played in!
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FunMasterMike Says…
"Andy Woodward is an incredibly impressive young player. His growth curve in the last few years was among the quickest I've ever seen. During some group classes that ChessKid sponsored, his talent was specifically mentioned by none other than Ivan Sokolov. Recently he went on to become the 2025 Chess.com Puzzle Champion, becoming the only player ever to dethrone Ray Robson. I hope that puts him on the world map. He's almost sure to play for the U.S.A. National Team in the future!"
Andy's hard work has paid off! We're looking forward to celebrating your future achievements!