A chess prodigy is a young child who possesses an aptitude for the game of chess that far exceeds what might be expected at their age. Their prodigious talent will often enable them to defeat experienced adult players and even titled chess masters. Some chess prodigies have progressed to become grandmasters or even World Chess Champions.
Early chess prodigies
editEarly chess prodigies included Paul Morphy (1837–1884) and José Raúl Capablanca (1888–1942), both of whom won matches against strong adult opponents at the age of 12, and Samuel Reshevsky (1911–1992), who was giving simultaneous exhibitions at the age of six.[1] Morphy went on to become the world's leading player before the formal title of World Champion existed. Capablanca became the third World Champion, and Reshevsky—while never attaining the title—was amongst the world's elite players for many decades.
Arturo Pomar (1931–2016) was another to be labelled a prodigy by chess writers.[2][3] He played his first international tournament (Madrid 1943) at the age of 11 and went on to become Spain's first grandmaster.
Youngest to defeat a grandmaster
editThere is often widespread attention when a young player defeats a Grandmaster, whether in a standard tournament game or less formal conditions.
Formal conditions
editThe youngest player to defeat a grandmaster under standard time controls is Ashwath Kaushik, who in February 2024 defeated Jacek Stopa at the age of 8 years, 6 months, and 11 days.
The previous record was set by Leonid Ivanovic, who in January 2024 defeated Milko Popchev at the Novogodisnji rating ŠSB in Belgrade, Serbia at the age of 8 years, 11 months, and 7 days.[4][5]
Informal conditions
editIn 1976, a ten-year-old Nigel Short beat Viktor Korchnoi as a participant in a simultaneous exhibition, the only game Korchnoi lost in the event.[6]
In 1999, David Howell defeated John Nunn in a blitz game at the age of eight.[6]
In 2021, 10-year-old Frederick Waldhausen Gordon, from Scotland, won against GM Bogdan Lalic in an online rapid 10+5 game in the ECF Grand Prix Rapid Event 1 held on lichess.org.[7][8][9]
In 2023, 8-year-old Roman Shogdzhiev, from Russia, defeated GM Jakhongir Vakhidov and GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen in the World Rapid Chess Championship 2023,[10] and after a couple of days defeated GM Kirill Shevchenko, GM Alan Pichot and GM Pranav V in the World Blitz Chess Championship 2023.[11]
List of youngest grandmasters
editSince 1950, when the Grandmaster (GM) title was introduced by FIDE, one measure of chess prodigies is the age at which they gain the GM title. Below are players who have held the record for the youngest grandmaster. The record is currently held by Abhimanyu Mishra. The age listed is the age at which they qualified for the title. This is not equal to the age at which they officially became grandmasters, because GM titles can only be awarded at FIDE congresses. The country listed indicates the federation the player was affiliated with at the time of gaining the title, not their current or later affiliation.
| Year | Player | Country | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | David Bronstein |  Soviet Union |
26 years |
| 1952 | Tigran Petrosian | Soviet Union |
23 years |
| 1955 | Boris Spassky | Soviet Union |
18 years |
| 1958 | Bobby Fischer |  United States |
15 years, 6 months, 1 day |
| 1991 | Judit Polgár |  Hungary |
15 years, 4 months, 28 days[12][13] |
| 1994 | Péter Lékó | Hungary |
14 years, 4 months, 22 days |
| 1997 | Étienne Bacrot |  France |
14 years, 2 months, 0 days |
| 1997 | Ruslan Ponomariov |  Ukraine |
14 years, 0 months, 17 days |
| 1999 | Bu Xiangzhi |  China |
13 years, 10 months, 13 days |
| 2002 | Sergey Karjakin | Ukraine |
12 years, 7 months, 0 days |
| 2021 | Abhimanyu Mishra | United States |
12 years, 4 months, 25 days[14] |
This is a list of the players who fulfilled the requirements to attain the title of Grandmaster before their 14th birthday.
| Player | Country | Age | Birth year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abhimanyu Mishra | United States |
12 years, 4 months, 25 days | 2009 |
| Sergey Karjakin | Ukraine |
12 years, 7 months, 0 days | 1990 |
| Gukesh Dommaraju |  India |
12 years, 7 months, 17 days | 2006 |
| Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş |  Turkey |
12 years, 9 months, 29 days | 2011 |
| Javokhir Sindarov |  Uzbekistan |
12 years, 10 months, 5 days | 2005 |
| R Praggnanandhaa | India |
12 years, 10 months, 13 days | 2005 |
| Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Uzbekistan |
13 years, 1 month, 11 days | 2004 |
| Parimarjan Negi | India |
13 years, 4 months, 22 days | 1993 |
| Magnus Carlsen |  Norway |
13 years, 4 months, 27 days | 1990 |
| Ivan Zemlyanskii |  Russia |
13 years, 8 months, 21 days | 2010 |
| Wei Yi | China |
13 years, 8 months, 23 days[15] | 1999 |
| Andy Woodward | United States |
13 years, 8 months, 28 days | 2010 |
| Raunak Sadhwani | India |
13 years, 9 months, 28 days[16] | 2005 |
| Bu Xiangzhi | China |
13 years, 10 months, 13 days | 1985 |
| Samuel Sevian | United States |
13 years, 10 months, 27 days[17] | 2000 |
| Richárd Rapport | Hungary |
13 years, 11 months, 6 days[18] | 1996 |
Note: Karjakin has changed federations since attaining the grandmaster title.
List of youngest female grandmasters
editBelow are the holders of the record for the youngest female player to qualify for the grandmaster title (not to be confused with the lesser Woman Grandmaster title):
| Year | Player | Country | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Nona Gaprindashvili | Soviet Union |
37 years |
| 1984 | Maia Chiburdanidze | Soviet Union |
23 years |
| 1991 | Susan Polgar | Hungary |
21 years |
| 1991 | Judit Polgár | Hungary |
15 years, 4 months[12][13] |
| 2002 | Koneru Humpy | India |
15 years, 1 month[19][20] |
| 2008 | Hou Yifan | China |
14 years, 6 months[21] |
References
edit- ^ "Chess prodigies and mini-grandmasters". 10 January 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ Saidy, Anthony; Lessing, Norman (1974). The World of Chess. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. p. 13. ISBN 0-394-48777-X.
- ^ Whyld, Kenneth (1986). Guinness Chess, The Records. Guinness Publishing Ltd. p. 259. ISBN 0851124550.
- ^ Svensen, Tarjei (21 January 2024). "8-Year-Old Makes History Becoming Youngest To Beat Grandmaster In Classical Chess". chess.com.
- ^ "Eight Year Old Leonid Ivanoivc Becomes Youngest Player To Beat GM In Classical Chess". 22 January 2024.
- ^ a b "9-year-old Hetul Shah (India) youngest ever to beat a GM". Chess.com. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ Brown, Angie (22 May 2021). "news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021 – via archive.today.
- ^ "Rapid Chess • FREDERICKtheMATE vs GM BogdanLalic".
- ^ "ECF Grand Prix Rapid Event 1 by ECF Online Rapid Grand Prix Series 2021: Standard 10+5 #ILOHq9MS".
- ^ "World Rapid Chess Championship 2023 Results".
- ^ "World Blitz Chess Championship 2023 Results".
- ^ a b "Judit Polgar: How I beat Fischer's record". ChessBase. 5 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Tibor Tolnai vs Judit Polgar". Chessgames.com. Chessgames Services LLC. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Guinness World Records Young Achievers - Abhimanyu Mishra". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Wei Yi has become the youngest GM in the world Archived 28 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rao, Rakesh (20 October 2019). "Raunak Sadhwani becomes India's 65th Grandmaster". The Hindu.Rao, Rakesh (20 October 2019). "Raunak Sadhwani becomes India's 65th Grandmaster". The Hindu.
- ^ "Youngest-ever American Chess Grandmaster crowned in St. Louis". 23 November 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ "Richard Rapport Becomes Hungary's Youngest Grandmaster - Chessdom". players.chessdom.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ "Humpy emerges winner at Elekes". The Times of India. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Humpy beats Judit Polgar by three months". Chess News. 31 May 2002. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ WWCC - Nalchik 2008 - and now there are just four! Archived 13 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, FIDE web site, 9 September 2008
