 He achieved his first grandmaster norm in 2010 and received the title of grandmaster in 2013  soon after tying for first in the 114th United States Open Chess Championship, held in Madison, (actually, in the suburb of Middleton) Wisconsin.He went undefeated and tied for first place along with Joshua Friedel and Julio Sadorra  and only lost the title of individual champion to Joshua Friedel in a tiebreak playoff.He won the award for the United States Chess League's most improved player award in 2011 and was featured in several "Games of the Week".