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Alex Setzepfandt, who attends private school in Berkeley, is just like any other 11-year-old kid, except that he plays chess good enough to be called a champion.  

Setzepfandt’s mother, Patty, said she never directly exposed Alex to chess, but that he has a natural love for the game. When he was 6, Patty said he was out in the car with his dad when they passed a café in Berkeley where some people were playing chess outside. The boy asked his dad to stop so he could watch the game.  

According to Alex, he got bored playing computer Monopoly, and in his search for a game that challenged him, found chess.  

“The calculation in chess is endless and there’s a lot of strategy,” he said.  

Initially, Alex said he and his dad learned how to play out of a book. In his first year of play, Alex went to the California state championships and, as his mom proudly said, “won every game.”  

Around the same time, while still in kindergarten, Alex created a complete chess set in his ceramics class, including a hand-painted board.  

Just five short years later, Alex is rated second in the nation in his age group in the United States Chess Federation.  

His current rating of 1864 makes him an A-level player, just 400 points shy of master level. According to his mom, Alex should reach master level by the time he’s 13.  

The most memorable match Alex ever played was in Los Angeles and lasted six hours, he said. The game lasted 102 moves, while the average game usually lasts only about 40. A move consists of each player moving one of their pieces.  

Alex works on his chess game an average of two hours a night, has a lesson every week and often plays in tournaments on the weekends. Despite the long hours of play, his mom said Alex has the usual fun that kids his age have.  

“He is constantly joking. He has a ‘Woody-Allen’-type personality,” Patty said. “He puts people before chess. He’ll always choose a birthday party over a tournament.”  

Not surprisingly, Alex scored in the 99th percentile in national math tests. He is also interested in science, currently reading a textbook on microbiology, but would ultimately like to attend Stanford and become a lawyer. 

Sometime when adults play Alex, his mom said, they won’t give up because they don’t want to lose to a kid. Some ultimately lose to Alex, but he is always gracious and takes his victories in stride. He also never cries when he loses, according to Patty.  

“He just tries to figure out what he can do better,” she said.