Chess prodigy
{{Short description|Young child with an aptitude for the game of chess}}
File:Fairbanks Chaplin Reshevsky 1921.jpg playing chess with Douglas Fairbanks, as Charlie Chaplin watches them during filming of the American silent film The Three Musketeers, 1921]]
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
Early 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2858|title=Chess prodigies and mini-grandmasters|date=10 January 2006|access-date=8 August 2017}} 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.{{cite book | author=Saidy, Anthony | author-link=Anthony Saidy | author2=Lessing, Norman | author2-link=Norman Lessing | title=The World of Chess | publisher=William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. | year=1974 | isbn=0-394-48777-X | page=13}}{{cite book | author=Whyld, Kenneth | title=Guinness Chess, The Records | publisher=Guinness Publishing Ltd | year=1986 | isbn= 0851124550 | page=259}} He played his first international tournament (Madrid 1943) at the age of 11 and went on to become Spain's first grandmaster.
Jutta Hempel (born 1960) at the age of 6 played 12 simultaneous games and won 9.5-2.5.[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=90005 The chess games of Jutta Hempel]. ChessGames.com. Accessed November 29, 2024.
Youngest to defeat a grandmaster
There is often widespread attention when a young player defeats a Grandmaster, whether in a standard tournament game or less formal conditions.
File:Magnus Carlsen versus Ivan Sokolov.jpg playing against 35-year-old Ivan Sokolov in 2004]]
=Formal conditions=
The 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.{{cite web|date=21 January 2024|title=8-Year-Old Makes History Becoming Youngest To Beat Grandmaster In Classical Chess|url=https://www.chess.com/news/view/8-year-old-becomes-youngest-to-beat-grandmaster-in-classical-chess#:~:text=Leonid%20Ivanovic%20from%20Serbia%20has,a%20grandmaster%20in%20classical%20chess.|work=chess.com|first=Tarjei|last=Svensen}}{{cite web|date=22 January 2024|title=Eight Year Old Leonid Ivanoivc Becomes Youngest Player To Beat GM In Classical Chess|url=https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!sports/eight-year-old-leonid-ivanoivc-becomes-youngest-player-to-beat-gm-in-classical-chess-enn24012204404}}
Aarit Kapil, at just 9 years, 2 months, and 18 days old, has become the youngest Indian and the third youngest player worldwide to defeat a Grandmaster under classical time control.{{Cite web |last=Gaur |first=Sagar |date=2024-12-09 |title=9-year-old Aarit Kapil becomes youngest Indian to beat a chess Grandmaster |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/9-year-old-aarit-kapil-becomes-youngest-indian-to-beat-a-chess-grandmaster-9714953/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}
=Informal conditions=
In 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.{{cite web |date=31 August 2011 |title=9-year-old Hetul Shah (India) youngest ever to beat a GM |url=https://www.chess.com/news/view/9-year-old-hetul-shah-india-youngest-ever-to-beat-a-gm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125031716/https://www.chess.com/news/view/9-year-old-hetul-shah-india-youngest-ever-to-beat-a-gm |archive-date=2020-11-25 |access-date=15 August 2020 |work=Chess.com}}
In 1999, David Howell defeated John Nunn in a blitz game at the age of eight.
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.{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Angie |author-link1= |last2= |first2= |author-link2= |last3= |first3= |author-link3= |last4= |first4= |author-link4= |last5= |first5= |author-link5= |display-authors= |author-mask= |name-list-style= |date= |year= |orig-year= |title=news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife |work=BBC News |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-57187522 |publisher=www.bbc.co.uk |publication-date=22 May 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210522215250/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-57187522 |archive-date=22 May 2021 |access-date=22 May 2021 |via=archive.today |url-access= |quote= |ref=191-0283 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=https://lichess.org/hih64XAF|title = Rapid Chess • FREDERICKtheMATE vs GM BogdanLalic| date=21 March 2021 }}{{Cite web|url=https://lichess.org/swiss/ILOHq9MS|title = ECF Grand Prix Rapid Event 1 by ECF Online Rapid Grand Prix Series 2021: Standard 10+5 #ILOHq9MS| date=21 March 2021 }}
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,{{cite web|title=World Rapid Chess Championship 2023 Results |url=https://worldrapidandblitz2023.fide.com/results-open-rapid/}} and after a couple of days defeated GM Kirill Shevchenko, GM Alan Pichot and GM Pranav V in the World Blitz Chess Championship 2023.{{cite web|title=World Blitz Chess Championship 2023 Results|url=https://worldrapidandblitz2023.fide.com/results-open-blitz/}}
==List of youngest grandmasters==
Since 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 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. The first record holder was David Bronstein, who was the youngest of the 27 inaugural players to be awarded the title by FIDE in 1950 at age 26; the record is currently held by Abhimanyu Mishra, who qualified at age 12.
This is a list of the players who fulfilled the requirements to attain the title of Grandmaster before their 14th birthday.
Note: Karjakin has changed federations since attaining the grandmaster title.
=List of youngest female grandmasters=
Below 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):
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{portal|Chess}}
- [http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2858 Chessbase news about young Grandmasters]
{{Chess}}