Julien Song
Julien Song is a French chess player holding the title of International Master. He is also a chess content creator, online club organizer, and former strategy consultant.
Biography
Originally from the Lyon area, Julien Song started playing chess at the age of ten. After studying in preparatory classes, he attended EM Lyon Business School and then worked as a strategy consultant at Boston Consulting Group. In April 2020, faced with health issues related to stress, he left his job to fully dedicate himself to chess, with the goal of becoming a Grandmaster.
Chess career
Julien Song reached a Elo rating of 2311 in February 2025, placing him in the 207th position in the French rankings. He notably won the 19th Sèvres Open in February 2025, outperforming several International Masters.
Julien Song runs a YouTube channel dedicated to chess, gathering nearly 595,000 subscribers as of June 2025. He also offers a weekly newsletter titled "Les Conseils du Samedi" and manages an online chess club with more than 5,800 members.
Educational engagement
In December 2024, Julien Song taught chess at the Lycée français international de Tokyo, introducing students to the game while sharing his journey and the values of chess. A video of this encounter was published on his YouTube channel in February 2025.