GM Brewington Hardaway Scores 28.5/29 Against Elite Campers

GM Brewington Hardaway secures an incredible score of 28.5/29 as he takes on our top scholastic players at the Elite Training Camp held in Times Square, NYC.

Brewington who was once a camper at our Elite Camps is now a world class Grandmaster and special guest. Brewington gave a lecture and shared analysis on several of his games, hosted a Q/A, signed autographs, and finished by taking on 29 of our elite campers.

Brewington is truly an inspiration and a reminder that world class talent can be nurtured and developed within our local NYC chess community.

Grandmaster Brewington Hardaway is one of the brightest young stars in American chess. Born on April 22, 2009, in the Bronx, New York, Brewington began learning chess at age five after accompanying his older sister, Noni, to her school chess club. What began almost by accident quickly revealed an extraordinary talent.

Brewington rose rapidly through the scholastic chess ranks. At just 10 years old, he became a US Chess National Master, making him the youngest African-American player at the time to achieve the title.

His progress continued on the international stage. Brewington completed the requirements for the International Master title in 2023, simultaneously earning his first Grandmaster norm at the U.S. Masters. He earned his second GM norm in New York in January 2024 and his final norm at the Sants Open in Spain later that year. In November 2024, at only 15, he crossed the required 2500 FIDE rating threshold.

FIDE subsequently awarded Brewington the Grandmaster title in 2025, making him the second African-American Grandmaster in history, after Maurice Ashley, and the first U.S.-born African-American to earn the title.

Still only 17 years old, Brewington represents a new generation of American chess talent, combining remarkable competitive achievement with a historic role in expanding representation at the highest levels of the game.