Who is Levy Rozman? This IM is teaching chess to the world

If you’re just now jumping onto the chess bandwagon, there’s a good chance that it’s because of Levy Rozman.

Levy Rozman, commonly known by his YouTube channel Gotham Chess, is an International Master chess player and a popular content creator. He began posting replays and analyses in August 2020 and has grown to own one of the biggest chess channels on the platform. He now makes frequent appearances as a commentator for Chess.com tournaments and is a noted associate of famous GM player Hikaru Nakamura.

Rozman was a central figure in the online chess craze of 2020. If you want to learn more about the famous chess content creator, here’s everything there is to know about the host of GothamChess

Is Levy Rozman a GM?

Levy Rozman is currently ranked as an International Master of chess. That is the second-highest formal chess rank under only Grand Master. Rozman earned the title in August of 2018 from the US Chess Federation. Rozman is ranked as the 3,148th-best chess player in the entire world, according to the International Chess Federation.

Rozman’s all-time peak ELO rating on Chess.com is 2834, which he achieved in November of 2021. That incredibly high rank is befitting of an International Master. While his peak ranking higher than some existing GMs, Rozman’s status as a content creator and commentator makes him less likely to receive the title of Grand Master.

Where is Levy Rozman from?

Levy Rozman was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 5, 1995. He began playing chess at the age of six. Rozman continued to play chess as an elective all through school.

While he is now best-known for his successful YouTube channel, Rozman continues to support academic chess. He became a scholastic chess coach in 2014. He also started a charity called the Levy Rozman Scholarship Fund. The organization has given $100,000 to school chess clubs to purchase supplies and fund tournament travel.

Does Levy Rozman teach chess?

While Levy Rozman does not give personalized chess lessons or coaching, there is a lot to learn from his existing content.

Rozman’s YouTube channel GothamChess is a massive catalog of chess analysis and lessons. He has created several series going over the game’s fundamentals, including a full playlist on more than 35 different openings. Some of Levy Rozman’s most popular content includes historical analysis where he goes over and explains important chess games throughout history of chess. He has also reviewed play from modern contemporaries including Hikaru Nakamura and reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen.

If you want more instructional content from Levy Rozman, you can check out his website Gotham-Chess.com. His personal website hosts paid bundles of content split up between category and side of play. Rozman’s most popular chess teaching pack is E4 NY Style + E6B6 NY Style, which includes openings and mid-game tactics for white and black respectively. These packages do not include personalized instruction from Rozman, but they are much more in-depth than his public YouTube videos.