Liam Putnam

17-year-old Liam Putnam of Rocky Point, New York, is one of the newest American Grandmasters, having made his final norm in the St. Louis Masters this past February. Liam, who learned to play at the age of 7, quickly moved into the top ranks of American scholastic chess tying for 2nd in the 2016 K-12 grade Nationals after only 8 months of playing. He tied for 1st in Super Nationals a year later, and finished clear first in the 2017 Grade Nationals the same year. Liam won the Under 14 section of the North American Youth Chess Championship at age 11 to earn the FIDE Master title

More recently Liam became an International Master in 2024 and made several Grandmaster norms the following year. His best performance to date might be taking first place in a strong open event in Seville, Spain, this past January.

Liam will be making his debut in the U.S. Junior Championship this year.