Eric Hansen Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Eric Hansen is a Canadian-American chess player and Twitch streamer who had earned the title of ‘GrandMaster’ in 2013 and had reached his peak FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) Elo rating of 2629 in September 2017. He had competed in the FIDE World Cup in both 2011 and 2013 and has represented Canada in the Chess Olympiad since 2012. In December 2012, he had won the 2nd edition of the Panama Open, scoring 8.5 points out of 9. He was also tied for first place at the Cappelle-la-Grande Open in 2013.

Born Name

Eric Hansen

Nick Name

Eric

Sun Sign

Gemini

Born Place

Irvine, Orange County, California, United States

Residence

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Nationality

He holds dual nationality.

Education

Eric, after his high school graduation, had joined the University of Texas at Dallas, a public university in Richardson, Texas, in September 2011, on a chess scholarship. He had represented the institution in intercollegiate tournaments but had taken a break from his studies after a year to focus on chess full-time.

Occupation

Chess Player, Twitch Streamer

Family

• Siblings – He has one brother and one sister.

Build

Slim

Height

5 ft 11 in or 180.5 cm

Weight

70 kg or 154.5 lbs

Race / Ethnicity

White

Hair Color

Dark Brown

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Lanky frame
• Lean physique
• Short-cropped, wavy hair
• Clean-shaven look

Eric Hansen Facts

1. He had revealed in a March 2016 interview that he was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) when he was about 8 years old.
2. He had started playing chess at school around that same age. In 2007, aged 15, he had become the youngest ever chess champion in the state of Alberta and had earned the title of FIDE Master (FM). He became Alberta champion again in 2009, 2011, and 2013.
3. In 2011, he was tied for first place in the Canadian Closed Championship with a score of 7.5 points out of 9. He then lost a 2-game playoff to Bator Sambuev who became the champion. Despite the result, he was nominated to play in the 2011 FIDE World Cup, his first appearance in the tournament.
4. In July 2012, he triumphed at the Canadian Open Chess Championship. A month later, he was tied for 5th–10th places in the World Junior Chess Championship held in Athens, scoring 9 points out of 13. This was the best-ever finish by a Canadian in this tournament since Vinny Puri’s tie for 8th place in 1988.
5. Later that year, he had scored his first GrandMaster norm with a tie for 1st–3rd place at the Isthmia Open in Vrachati, Greece. He had earned his final GrandMaster norm at the 40th Chess Olympiad held in Istanbul (August–September 2012), his first appearance in the tournament. He had scored 7.5 points out of 10, reaching 2500 FIDE rating points, the minimum requirement for the title of ‘GrandMaster’.
6. As of April 2021, he was the second-youngest Canadian to achieve the title of GrandMaster, after Mark Bluvshtein who had achieved it in 2004 at the age of 16. As Mark had been a part of Israeli youth chess training systems before immigrating to Canada in 1999, Eric was considered the youngest homegrown Canadian to achieve the title of ‘GrandMaster’. Although he was born in the United States, he was primarily raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. FIDE had awarded him the title in January 2013.

Featured Image by Eric Hansen / Instagram