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 World Chess Champions.
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.[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.
There is often widespread attention when a young player defeats a Grandmaster, whether in a standard tournament game or less 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.[4] [5]
In 1999, David Howell defeated John Nunn in a blitz game at the age of eight.
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.[6]
In March 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 August 2020, 9-year-old Tanitoluwa Adewumi, a Nigerian refugee living in the US, defeated GM Hikaru Nakamura in a blitz game on Chess.com.[10]
In December 2023, 8-year-old Roman Shogdzhiev, from Russia, defeated GM Jakhongir Vakhidov and GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen in the World Rapid Chess Championship 2023,[11] and after a couple of days defeated GM Kirill Shevchenko, GM Alan Pichot and GM Pranav V in the World Blitz Chess Championship 2023.[12]
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 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.
| 1950 | 26 years | |||
| 1952 | 23 years | |||
| 1955 | 18 years | |||
| 1958 | 15 years, 6 months, 1 day | |||
| 1991 | 15 years, 4 months, 28 days[13] [14] | |||
| 1994 | 14 years, 4 months, 22 days | |||
| 1997 | 14 years, 2 months, 0 days | |||
| 1997 | 14 years, 0 months, 17 days | |||
| 1999 | 13 years, 10 months, 13 days | |||
| 2002 | 12 years, 7 months, 0 days | |||
| 2021 | 12 years, 4 months, 25 days[15] |
This is a list of the players who fulfilled the requirements to attain the title of Grandmaster before their 14th birthday.
| 12 years, 4 months, 25 days | 2009 | ||
| 12 years, 7 months, 0 days | 1990 | ||
| 12 years, 7 months, 17 days | 2006 | ||
| 12 years, 9 months, 29 days | 2011 | ||
| 12 years, 10 months, 5 days | 2005 | ||
| 12 years, 10 months, 13 days | 2005 | ||
| 13 years, 1 month, 11 days | 2004 | ||
| 13 years, 4 months, 22 days | 1993 | ||
| 13 years, 4 months, 27 days | 1990 | ||
| Ivan Zemlyanskii | Russia | 13 years, 8 months, 21 days | 2010 |
| 13 years, 8 months, 23 days[16] | 1999 | ||
| 13 years, 8 months, 28 days | 2010 | ||
| 13 years, 9 months, 28 days[17] | 2005 | ||
| 13 years, 10 months, 13 days | 1985 | ||
| 13 years, 10 months, 27 days[18] | 2000 | ||
| 13 years, 11 months, 6 days[19] | 1996 | ||
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):
| 1978 | 37 years | |||
| 1984 | 23 years | |||
| 1991 | 21 years | |||
| 1991 | 15 years, 4 months | |||
| 2002 | 15 years, 1 month[20] [21] | |||
| 2008 | 14 years, 6 months[22] |