Anthony He

Overview

Anthony Bi He is an American chess player born on February 16, 2005, who holds the title of FIDE International Master (IM), which he earned in 2021. Representing the United States chess federation, He reached a career-high classical FIDE rating of 2529. He is primarily known as a highly competitive tournament player and was a prominent junior prodigy in the Pacific Northwest, having established several youngest-player milestones in Washington State before co-winning national scholastic championships.

Biography & Major Career Milestones

Anthony He developed his chess career within the competitive structure of the Washington Chess Federation.

• State Scholastic Milestones: On June 5, 2016, at the age of 11 years, 3 months, and 20 days, He became the youngest player in Washington State history to achieve the US Chess National Master (NM) title. He secured the record at the Washington Open in Lynnwood, scoring 3.5/4.
• FIDE Master Title: On February 20, 2017, four days after his 12th birthday, He became Washington State's youngest ever FIDE Master (FM). He crossed the 2300 FIDE rating threshold by scoring 5.5/9 at the 2017 Washington State Chess Championship held in Redmond.
• Washington Junior and State Championships: In January 2018, He won the Washington Junior Closed with a perfect 5.0/5 score, which qualified him for the state's main championship. In 2019, He finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Washington State Chess Championship alongside FM Roland Feng and IM Michael Lee. In 2021, He won the Washington State Chess Championship outright with a score of 7.5/9.
• International Master Title: He completed his third and final International Master (IM) norm on September 6, 2021, at the PNWCC FIDE Masters - Artist Point tournament in Redmond, Washington, with a score of 5.0/9. In doing so, He became Washington's youngest ever FIDE International Master at the age of 16 years and 28 weeks, lifting his FIDE rating to 2453.
• National High School Achievements: In April 2022, He competed in the K-12 Championship division of the National High School (K-12) Championship in Memphis, Tennessee. He finished in a seven-way tie for first place with a score of 6/7, earning the title of National High School Co-Champion. Additionally, He won the National High School Blitz Championship at the same event with an 11/14 score.

Playing Style, Material Tendencies & Endgame Profiling

Anthony He's playing style is dynamic and positional, showing the tactical sharp calculation typical of the modern computer-trained generation. He consistently seeks active piece play and is comfortable navigating concrete, calculation-heavy middlegame lines.

His defensive play relies heavily on deep, engine-accurate calculation. Rather than adopting purely passive defensive postures, He often seeks to complicate the position through tactical counter-shots or pawn breaks to unbalance the material structure. In technical endings, He demonstrates strong fundamental endgame knowledge, particularly in converting advantages with active minor pieces or utilizing open files to coordinate with heavy pieces.

Opening Repertoire & Theoretical Move Orders

1. As White

Anthony He primarily opens with 1.e4 or 1.d4, maintaining a flexible first-move distribution.

• Against 1...e5 (Italian Game): Against open games, He often prefers the Italian structure:

• Against the Caro-Kann Defense (Nc3 System): He frequently challenges the Caro-Kann using classical development systems:

• Against the Sicilian Defense (Rossolimo Variation): Against 2...Nc6 Sicilian structures, He commonly adopts the positional Rossolimo setup:

• Queen's Gambit Declined: When selecting 1.d4, He frequently steers the game into the Charousek Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined:

2. As Black

• Against 1.e4 (Caro-Kann Defense): The Caro-Kann serves as one of He's primary defensive weapons:

• Against 1.e4 (Sicilian Defense): He also counters 1.e4 with the Sicilian, sometimes playing systems with an early ...e5:

• Against 1.d4 (Grünfeld Defense): Against queen's pawn openings, He often seeks asymmetric counterplay via the Grünfeld Defense:

• Against 1.d4 (King's Indian Defense): He also employs traditional King's Indian systems:

Links

• FIDE: https://ratings.fide.com/profile/2088215
• Wikipedia: Not available