Kerim Demirkol · Website Launch · March 2026
Music is out. Two original chess songs — available to stream & own.
I am 16.
This is everything I have built — and everything I am building toward.
Oceanman Champion. FIDE International Chess Master. Certified Personal Trainer. Paralympic coaching assistant. Borlaug Scholar. Author. Aspiring doctor. Three words that hold it all together — and a website that finally shows the full picture.
Kerim Demirkol · Global Citizen · kerimdemirkol.com · March 2026
All of it.
At once.
On purpose.
Music · KimDem · March 2026 · Out Now
Pieces, Vol. I
Two original songs written from inside chess — by a FIDE Arena International Chess Master
Who I Am
Six domains. One person. No backup lane.
Borlaug Scholar — January 2023
World Food Prize Foundation · Wageningen University & Research
Named a Borlaug Scholar
Inaugural World Food Prize – Wageningen Youth Institute · 26 January 2023 · Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
Awarded in recognition of research and presentation of scientific and policy recommendations — in the legacy of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, 1970 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the World Food Prize, who saved more lives than any other person that has ever lived.
Read the full Borlaug page ↗
Certifications & Credentials
Sports Titles & Championships
Oceanman World Champs 10KM · Top 10 Age Category · Dec 2025
Oceanman Junior Champion · Ayia Napa, Cyprus · Oct 2025
Oceanman 10KM Champion · Aktau, Kazakhstan · Sep 2025
FIDE Arena International Chess Master · 2024
FIDE Arena Master (AFM) · 2022
FIDE Arena Candidate Master (ACM) · 2022
Professional Certifications — SIFA / Smart Gym Trading
Personal Trainer · EQF Level 4 · EREPS/EuropeActive · Mar 2025
Fitness Instructor · REPs Endorsed · Mar 2025
Suspended Fitness Training · SIFA · Apr 2025
Functional Training Specialist · REPs Approved · Aug 2025
Academic & Scholarship
Borlaug Scholar · World Food Prize Foundation · Jan 2023
Wageningen Youth Institute · Inaugural Cohort
Laurel Springs School · Grade 11 · Biology, Chemistry, English
Pre-Medicine Pathway · Medical School Applicant
Work Experience
Fitness Instructor Assistant · Qatar National Paralympic Committee · Aug–Dec 2025
The Book
Memoir in Progress · 2026
The Grandmaster I Never Became
Written at 16. Lived from 12. A memoir about setting an ambitious goal young, falling short of it in public, and discovering what actually grows in the space where the goal used to be. Seven countries. Fifteen coaches. Three titles. One honest account of what ambition, failure, and rebuilding actually look like from the inside — and what they teach you about every other pursuit that follows.
The Motto in Practice — Illustrated & Heard
Calculate. Commit. Continue.
Three words. Three Media Arts works. And now — two songs that live inside the same logic. Every Move Counts is what Calculate feels like at the board. One Move to Mastery is what Continue sounds like over years.
Further Reading on Medium