Today’s guest on Cover Stories with Chess Life is pulling double-duty: he is the author of the April 2021 cover story, and he is also its subject.

GM Hans Niemann is, to my knowledge, America’s newest grandmaster, having crossed the 2500 barrier in December after earning his three GM norms. The title became official on January 22, 2021 after FIDE’s final approval.

This final step was the culmination of a long road for Niemann, chronicled in his article “The Road to Grandmaster.” We hear about Niemann’s early days, about his scholastic successes and later struggles, and about the mental changes he needed to make to finally achieve his goals.