Sam Shankland ’14 has accomplished more than many of us could say. He travels the globe playing with some of the the best chess players in the world. Chess may not be the most popular sport among the college population, but it is for Shankland. Do you think you have the moves to go up against this world champ? Keep reading to find out!
Name: Sam Shankland
Year: 2014
Major: Economics
Hometown: El Cerrito, CA
HC: When did you start playing chess?
Sam: I started to learn the pieces at a really young age, around six, but I didn’t actually start playing until later on. I entered my first tournament when I was 12 years old, when I first began to learn how to play. I wasn’t like other wonder geniuses that started playing at really young ages. I am really happy to have figured out my talent even though it’s not really mainstream.
HC: It’s amazing how quickly and well you learned how to play in such a short period of time! Why did you start playing chess?
Sam: I really don’t know. I went to the chess club after school because I enjoyed it. I was an athlete and very competitive – I enjoy the feeling of victory. Even in second grade, after I lost my soccer game, I was really upset. Chess fed that inner competitive need that I have and then I fell in love with it.
HC: Wow. That’s impressive. Did you have a career with chess since you started playing?
Sam: Sometimes I am the player, and sometimes I am the teacher. I don’t play as much while I am in school. Actually, I have 5 tournaments lined up right after the semester ends and summer starts. But, I do teach while I am at school for about five to ten hours a week online by giving lessons.
HC: Do you see chess in your future?
Sam: That’s tough to say. I could establish a comfortable living for the rest of my life playing tournaments and teaching people, but I don’t know if it is something that I actually want to do for the rest of my life. I have self-fulfillment after winning a tournament, but I want to feel like I am helping other people at the same time.
HC: Since you mentioned that you don’t really devote a majority of your time to chess during the school year, what else do you do throughout the year?
Sam: I do everything that a normal college student does like hang out with my friends, go to the gym every day, and play soccer. Teaching chess is like an on-campus job, but different since I am doing it through the internet. Other than that, I am just like everyone else.
HC: So, what do you see yourself doing after Brandeis?
Sam: I want to take a couple years off to improve my chess skills. There is this fellowship that I am after called the “Samford Fellowship,” which awards $80,000 to the top under-25 year old player in the U.S. to learn how to play better. I am confident that I will be awarded this opportunity. I would travel to other countries to enter competitions that I would normally have to pay myself to participate and play against people that I wouldn’t really play against to improve.
HC: That seems like a lot of fun but also a commitment! Speaking of tournaments, what are some of your major chess accomplishments?
Sam: Well, my first tournament was when I was 12. Then when I was 16, I was the California Adult State champion, which I was the youngest ever to win the title. Then in 2008, I won the Under-18 World Cup in Vietnam at the age of 17. And just last August, I knocked out the former ranked #2 player in the world in the first round.
HC: That is unbelievable!! Not everyone could say that they won so many prestigious titles at such a young age! What I think the readers also want to know is something quirky about yourself.
Sam: I am terrified of paper clips, and I don’t know why. Interested in playing chess now? You could check out his website www.samshankland.com for videos and information about lessons.