Stuart Rachels (born September 26, 1969) is an American philosopher and International Master of chess. He is the son of the philosopher James Rachels (1941–2003). He tied for first place in the 1989–90 U.S. Chess Championship. Although he is no longer an active player, his FIDE rating is 2485 and his USCF rating is 2605.
In 1981, at the age of 11 years and 10 months, he became the youngest chess master in U.S. history, a record that stood until 1994.[1] He won the United States Junior Invitational Championship in 1988. His greatest chess achievement was tying for first place in the 1989–90 U.S. Championship with grandmastersRoman Dzindzichashvili and Yasser Seirawan. This qualified him to play in the 1990 ManilaInterzonal, where he achieved a respectable score of 6 points out of 13 games.[2] Rachels and John Grefe, the 1973 U.S. co-champion, are the only players since 1948 to win or share the U.S. Championship who did not become grandmasters.
FIDE awarded him the International Master title, and he also received the equivalent of two grandmaster norms, one short of the number needed for the title. Rachels retired from chess in 1993. In 2020, New in Chess published his book The Best I Saw in Chess; it was recognized by the Chess Journalists of America as that year's "Best Book, Other"[3] and was shortlisted in the English Chess Federation "Book of the Year" competition.[4]
