Shreyas Royal (born 9 January 2009) is an English chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he became a grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 7 months, making him the youngest English player to achieve the title.
| Shreyas Royal | |
|---|---|
 Royal in 2023 | |
| Country | England |
| Born | 9 January 2009[1] Bengaluru, India[2] |
| Title | Grandmaster (2024) |
| FIDE rating | 2520 (November 2024) |
| Peak rating | 2520 (November 2024) |
Early life and education
editShreyas was born in Bangalore, India and moved to Woolwich, South East London at the age of 3 when his father Jitendra Singh was offered a job as an IT project manager. Singh's visa was due to expire in September 2018, but he was granted a new work visa one month prior, allowing the family to stay and Royal to continue playing chess in England.[3] On a scholarship, Royal attended the Pointer School in Blackheath.[4]
Career
editHe won the European Youth U8 Chess Championship in 2017.[5]
In 2021 Royal became England's youngest International Master.[2]
In November 2022, he scored his first GM norm at the Bavarian Open in Tegernsee, Germany.[6] In doing so, he broke the record for being the youngest English player to earn a GM norm.[7][8]
Royal competed in the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2023.[9] At the event, he won the first round against the higher-rated Jaime Santos Latasa, who was rated 2650 (whereas Royal was rated 2407). Shreyas also defeated Vahap Şanal in Round 7, rated 2603 at the time of the game.[10] Royal finished with 4.5/11 points in the tournament, with a performance rating of 2574.[11][12]
In December 2023, Royal played in the London Chess Classic, scoring 4/9 points and obtaining his second GM norm.[13]
Royal achieved his third and final GM norm at the age of 15 in August 2024, after finishing in sixth place at the British Chess Championship. With this, Royal became the youngest British grandmaster in history, beating David Howell's record by 6 months.[14]
References
edit- ^ "About Shreyas Royal".
- ^ a b "Shreyas Royal: India-born chess player is UK's youngest international master". 9 July 2023.
- ^ "Shreyas Royal: Child chess prodigy's family can stay in UK". 10 August 2018.
- ^ Gibbons, Katie (21 April 2018). "Visa battle to keep 'future world chess champion' Shreyas Royal in Britain". The Times. Retrieved 5 August 2024.(subscription required)
- ^ "Chess and Esports: 10 questions with Shreyas Royal". 28 February 2023.
- ^ "Child chess prodigy Shreyas Royal eyeing records at Bavarian Open". 12 November 2022.
- ^ Barden, Leonard (14 November 2022). "Chess: Shreyas Royal, 13, breaks UK record for youngest ever grandmaster result".
- ^ "Shreyas Royal – first GM norm at 13!".
- ^ "2023 FIDE Grand Swiss". www.chess-results.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss". chess-results.com. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Results & Standings - FIDE Grand Swiss 2023". Chess.com. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ "FIDE Rating Calculators". ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ Barden, Leonard (15 December 2023). "Chess: Adams wins in London at 52 while Royal, 14, aims for GM in Hastings". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ "Shreyas Royal Becomes Youngest British Grandmaster In History". Chess.com. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.