Eric Rosen was born on September 3, 1993, in Skokie, Illinois. He grew up in Skokie and learned to play chess at age 7 while on holiday in the Bahamas. At age 9, he won the Illinois 3rd Grade State Championship. Rosen attended Niles North High School, leading the chess team to two state championships. In 2011, he won the U.S. K-12 Championship with a perfect score. The Skokie Village Board named May 16, 2011, Eric Rosen Day in his honor.
Rosen became a FIDE Master in 2011 and an International Master in 2015. He studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2012 to 2014, competing in the President’s Cup twice. He later transferred to Webster University on a chess scholarship, graduating in 2017 with a B.A. in Interactive Digital Media.
Rosen’s chess career includes placing 9th in the 2011 World U-18 Championship and earning multiple IM norms. He produces educational content on Twitch and YouTube, primarily focused on chess but also including Scrabble. In 2018, he defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in a bullet game. In 2022, he won chess.com’s “IM not a GM speed chess championship.” Rosen’s achievements and connection to Skokie have made him a notable figure in the chess community.
