Yesterday, Rachael Li improved her US Chess rating to 2201! I believe that, subject to Tuesday’s re-rate, makes her the youngest female US Chess master ever! Congratulations to Rachael. Sometimes, they do make things smaller (and younger) in Texas! 
Because this is the week we generate the December Ratings List, the weekly rerate is a full rerate and based on recent months it will not complete until some time Wednesday.
Thanks, Mike. I realized that (since this will be the third Wednesday of the month) after I posted. 'Hoping that her rating will stand to at least 2200…
I looked at her page and noticed she went down to 2194 the following day in the “Sunday Swiss”.
Will it still count since she was 2201 the day before?
ll that matters is that she have a post-event (and post-rerate) rating of 2200+. About half of first-time masters wind up dropping below 2200 in a subsequent event, usually only briefly.
Congratulations to Rachael!
I am sure it is just a matter of short time that we will be celebrating her conquering international titles as well.
I already watched Rachael tie for first place at a Continental Chess Association tournament in California, beating an IM in the final round. Of course, she has GM genes. 
Michael Aigner
Is she a happy child? Such stress and pressure is placed on children to excel in school, sports, and chess. When I saw her play at a couple of major tournaments, including a US Open, she seemed very sad while she was playing. I heard that she was told not to offer or accept draws.
Imagine the number of children who will think they are failures for not achieving master status at age 9. There are players who have been frustrated and wanted to quit chess because they had not achieved the GM title by age 18. Instead of loving to play, some of these kids (and parents) have been caught up in the quest for titles.
Children are usually happy when they taste success. Conversely, they are unhappy when they come to realize that achieving success requires hard work and failure. Isn’t that truth one of the biggest life lessons of playing chess?
Nonetheless, people of all ages learn best when they enjoy learning. Anyone who reaches master level has dealt with frustration, but must also have experienced sufficient highs to overcome those lows. The master needs determination to bounce back from disappointment. Just ask the 2018 US Champion, who actually quit chess twice in his late teens.
No doubt parental pressure exists. I have seen parents publicly yell at their children for losing a chess game. I have also seen parents who let their talented children play video games all day or hang out on the street. Honestly, I prefer to meet the dedicated parent who cares than the absentee parent.
Michael Aigner
Rachael Li’s 2201 was not affected by the rerate.
We have seen a number of young players who worked to get a 2200+ rating and then essentially stopped playing.
Larry Evans used to say that Bobby Fischer sacrificed his youth to chess, I hope today’s young strong players don’t have that happen to them. Chess may or may not become their chosen profession, the odds are substantially in favor of the latter, I suspect.
Rachael was over 18 months younger than the previous record holder, Carissa Yip. Carissa has since gone on to become a senior master and a WGM, let us hope that Rachael continues to play and improve.