Eric Hansen - Canadian Grandmaster and Chess YouTuber

Full Name: Eric Hansen
Title: Grandmaster (2013
Born: 24 May 1992
Place of Birth: Irvine, California, United States

Ratings

World Ranking: 237
Rapid: 2579
Blitz: 2568
Classical (Std): 2606

Profiles

FIDE

Chessgames.com

Biography

The now grandmaster chess player Eric Hansen was born on the 24th of May 1992, in Irvine, California, in the United States. Hansen’s parents are still unidentified, but it is evident that Eric was recognized as both a citizen of Canada and America.

Eric Hansen continued growing up in the vicinity of Calgar in Alberta located in Canada, together with his parents and two siblings.

In a recent interview with him in 2016, the 29-year-old chess master revealed that between the ages of eight (8) to nine (9) years old, he underwent medication and was given a diagnosis wherein they discovered that he has an attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder or also known as the ADHD. With that, the specialist recommended that he attend a school that focuses on children with knowledge disabilities. Also, to help with the curing process of his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), he was advised to take medication such as Ritalin in a short period.

The Beginning

The beginning of his chess skills was developed in his early childhood when he was nine (9) years old in a school chess club in Webber Academy, wherein he began his primary education.

Reaching the peak age of teenage life, Hansen had become Alberta’s youngest titleholder and received the honor of being a FIDE master when he was 15 years old. His championship in Alberta, Canada, was repeated in 2009, 2011, and 2013.

As he discovered his capability to play chess, he kept on pursuing his mastery. He managed to be part of the University of Texas chess scholarship in Dallas in September 2011. Through that, he was allowed to start the peak of his chess career and represented the University of Texas in a collegiate level tournament.

After his first official game, he decided to halt his studies and spent his entire attention playing chess.

He managed to bag the first-place ranking in the Canadian Closed Championship in the same year and successfully obtained his first experience in the FIDE world cup. After his triumph in 2011, he also clinched the Canadian Open Chess Championship the following year, 2012, and went on to play for Canada at the 2012 Chess Olympiad.

Aside from playing in actual tournaments, Eric Hansen also showed his skills virtually by participating and playing on different online chess tournaments. He gained the highest rating chess player online on these various chess websites and went against the other highest-rated chess player online who happened to be his dorm mate.

Subsequently, Eric Hansen was one of the chess players every aspiring one looked up to. His successes were followed by many more, and he continues to progress each year until now. However, in 2020, Hansen ranked down his blitz on Chess.com. Nonetheless, he was still recognized as the best chess player.

Achievements

Eric Hansen Playing Chess — Andreas Kontokanis from Piraeus, Greece, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

To highlight Eric Hansen’s mastery in being a chess player, here are some of his iconic and outstanding achievements in being a chess master player.

Obtained the youngest FIDE Master title
Alberta Champion in three years (2009, 2011, and 2013)
Ranked First place in Canadian Closed Championship on 2011
Nominated to participate in FIDE World cup 2011
In July 2012, he successfully clinched the Canadian Open Chess Championship in Victoria in British Columbia.
In August 2012, he ranked 5th to 10th place in the World Junior Chess Championship in Athens, Greece.
He gained his first grandmaster title in the Isthmia Open Tournament, where he ranked from 1st to 3rd place.
He gained his final grandmaster title in the 40th Chess Olympiad in Turkey on the year 2012
Debuted together with the Canadian national team
Hansen became the second-youngest Grandmaster in Canadian history.
In Canadian Zonal Championship in 2015, Eric Hansen earned the first place ranking together with Leonid Gerzhoy and Tomas Krnan
In 2022, Hansen beat Magnus Carlsen, who happened to be the World Champion in an online chess tournament.