Kirk Ghazarian

Twenty-year-old Grandmaster Kirk Ghazarian of Trabuco Canyon, California, has, despite his youth, already qualified twice to play in the FIDE World Cup (2023 and 2025). A member of the All-America Chess Team from 2021-2026, Kirk has had consistently high results the past year and a half, going from 2501 to 2546 FIDE. These performances include placing fourth in the 2025 U.S. Junior and tying for second in the 2025 Hastings Chess Congress.

Trivia alert – what U.S. Junior Championship participant has qualified to play in an Olympiad? The answer is Kirk who in 2015, while living in the U.S. Virgin Islands and only nine years old, earned a spot to play in the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku. He declined the invitation.