Kenneth Saul Rogoff learned chess from his father at 6, but only took up the game in earnest when he received a chess set for his 13th birthday. He was soon recognized as a chess prodigy. By age 14, he was a USCF Master and New York State Open Champion, and shortly thereafter became a Senior Master, the highest US national title.
At 16, Rogoff dropped out of high school to concentrate on chess. He won the 1969 United States Junior Championship. Rogoff spent the next several years living primarily in Europe and playing in tournaments there. He finished third in the 1971 World Junior Championship, behind winner Werner Hug and Zoltan Ribli (second). At 18, he decided to go to college and pursue a career in economics rather than become a chess professional, but continued to play and improve for several years afterward.
FIDE awarded Rogoff the IM title in 1974, and the GM title in 1978. His best tournament result was second place at the United States Championship (1975), half a point behind six-time champion Walter Browne. This qualified him for the Biel Interzonal (1976), where he finished tied for 13th–15th. He tied for second with eight other players at Lone Pine (1976), half a point behind Tigran Petrosian. Rogoff tied for first at Norristown (1973) and Orense 1976.
Early in his economics career, Rogoff served as chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and also on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He is currently the Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics at Harvard University.
Rogoff's biography in his own words: https://scholar.harvard.edu/rogoff/... Rogoff's game against Magnus Carlsen in August 2012 in New York: https://en.chessbase.com/post/magnu... Article by Rogoff in ChessBase, titled "Rogoff on innovation, unemployment, inequality and dislocation," with particular reference to professional chess: https://en.chessbase.com/post/rogof...
Interview on the Perpetual Chess Podcast: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/n...
chess.com interview of Rogoff: https://www.chess.com/article/view/...
Rochester Beacon interviews Rogoff: https://rochesterbeacon.com/2025/05...
Interview on The Ben Shapiro Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wic... (starting at 30:33)
Wikipedia article: Kenneth Rogoff
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