Jesse Kraai (born May 6, 1972) is a chess
Grandmaster (GM) living in
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. He reached GM status in 2007 making him the first American-born player to achieve the title since
Tal Shaked
Tal Shaked is an American chess grandmaster who is best known for winning the World Junior Championship in 1997.
Shaked learned the game at the age of seven, and developed his chess skills in the scholastic chess organizations of Tucson, Arizon ...
in 1997.
He won the 1987 National Junior High School Championship, tied for first in the 1988 National High School Championship, and won the
Denker Tournament of High School Champions
The Denker Tournament of High School Champions is a chess tournament that occurs annually in the United States alongside the US Open, Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions, IM Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls St ...
in 1989 and 1990. In 2007, he won the
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
chess state championship for the fifth consecutive year.
Kraai was born in
Santa Fe. He received his B.A. from
Shimer College
Shimer Great Books School (pronounced ) is a Classic_book#University_programs, Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of ...
in 1994, his M.A. in philosophy from the
University of Jena
The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
The un ...
, Germany in 1996, and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
in 2001. His dissertation examined the influence of
Georg Joachim Rheticus
Georg Joachim de Porris, also known as Rheticus ( /ˈrɛtɪkəs/; 16 February 1514 – 5 December 1576), was a mathematician, astronomer, cartographer, navigational-instrument maker, medical practitioner, and teacher. He is perhaps best known for ...
on the development of
Copernican theory
Copernican heliocentrism is the astronomical model developed by Nicolaus Copernicus and published in 1543. This model positioned the Sun at the center of the Universe, motionless, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it in circular pa ...
.
In 2013, he published ''Lisa: A Chess Novel'' (). He withdrew from teaching chess for three years to write it.
References
External links
Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraai, Jesse
1972 births
Living people
American chess players
Chess grandmasters
Shimer College alumni
Heidelberg University alumni
People from Santa Fe, New Mexico