View source for Chess prodigy

{{Short description|Young child with an aptitude for the game of chess}}
[[File:Fairbanks Chaplin Reshevsky 1921.jpg|300px|thumb|right|[[Samuel Reshevsky]] playing chess with [[Douglas Fairbanks]], as [[Charlie Chaplin]] watches them during filming of the American silent film ''[[The Three Musketeers (1921 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 [[Child prodigy|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 Championship|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 exhibition]]s at the age of six.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Morphy went on to become the world's leading player before the formal title of [[World chess championship|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=Whyld, Kenneth | title=Guinness Chess, The Records | publisher=Guinness Publishing Ltd | year=1986 | isbn= 0851124550 | page=259}}</ref> He played his first international tournament (Madrid 1943) at the age of 11 and went on to become Spain's first [[Grandmaster (chess)|grandmaster]].

[[Jutta Hempel]] (born 1960) at the age of 6 played 12 simultaneous games and won 9.5-2.5.<ref name=Chessgames>[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=90005 The chess games of Jutta Hempel]. ChessGames.com. Accessed November 29, 2024.</ref>

== 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|thumb|13-year-old [[Magnus Carlsen]] playing against 35-year-old [[Ivan Sokolov (chess player)|Ivan Sokolov]] in 2004]]

===Formal conditions===
The youngest player to defeat a grandmaster under standard [[time control]]s is [[Ashwath Kaushik]] of Singapore, who in February 2024 defeated [[Jacek Stopa]] at the age of 8 years, 6 months, and 11 days.<ref name=":0" />

The previous record was set by [[Leonid Ivanovic]] of Serbia, 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>

In January 2025, [[Aarit Kapil]] of India became the third youngest player worldwide to defeat a Grandmaster under classical time controls, at the age of 9 years, 2 months, and 18 days old.<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref>

===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.<ref name="chess.com">{{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]]}}</ref>

In 1999, [[David Howell (chess player)|David Howell]] defeated [[John Nunn]] in a [[blitz chess|blitz]] game at the age of eight.<ref name="chess.com"/>

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.<ref>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lichess.org/hih64XAF|title = Rapid Chess • FREDERICKtheMATE vs GM BogdanLalic| date=21 March 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{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 }}</ref>

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]],<ref>{{cite web|title=World Rapid Chess Championship 2023 Results |url=https://worldrapidandblitz2023.fide.com/results-open-rapid/}}</ref> and after a couple of days defeated GM [[Kirill Shevchenko]], GM [[Alan Pichot]] and GM [[Pranav V]] in the [[World Blitz Chess Championship 2023]].<ref>{{cite web|title=World Blitz Chess Championship 2023 Results|url=https://worldrapidandblitz2023.fide.com/results-open-blitz/}}</ref>

==List of youngest grandmasters==<!-- This section is linked from [[Grandmaster (chess)]] -->

Since 1950, when the [[Grandmaster (chess)|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 [[Norm (chess)#Grandmaster norm|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.

{| class="wikitable"
|+List of youngest grandmasters since 1950
!Year !!Player !!Country !!Age
|-
|-
| 1950 || [[David Bronstein]] || {{URS}} || 26 years
|-
| 1952 || [[Tigran Petrosian]] || {{URS}} || 23 years
|-
| 1955 || [[Boris Spassky]] || {{URS}} || 18 years
|-
| 1958 || [[Bobby Fischer]] || {{USA}} || 15 years, 6 months, 1 day
|-
| 1991 || [[Judit Polgár]] || {{HUN}} || 15 years, 4 months, 28 days<ref name="jpolgar_1">{{cite web
 | url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/judit-polgar-how-i-beat-fischer-s-record/2
 | title=Judit Polgar: How I beat Fischer's record
 | website=[[ChessBase]]
 | date=5 February 2013
}}</ref><ref name="jpolgar_2">{{Cite Chessgames.com game
 | gid= 1110989
 | title= Tibor Tolnai vs Judit Polgar
 | access-date = 7 September 2023
}}</ref>
|-
| 1994 || [[Péter Lékó]] || {{HUN}} || 14 years, 4 months, 22 days
|-
| 1997 || [[Étienne Bacrot]] || {{FRA}} || 14 years, 2 months, 0 days
|-
| 1997 || [[Ruslan Ponomariov]] || {{UKR}} || 14 years, 0 months, 17 days
|-
| 1999 || [[Bu Xiangzhi]] || {{CHN}} || 13 years, 10 months, 13 days
|-
| 2002 || [[Sergey Karjakin]] || {{UKR}} || 12 years, 7 months, 0 days
|-
| 2021 || [[Abhimanyu Mishra]] || {{USA}} || 12 years, 4 months, 25 days<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guinness World Records Young Achievers - Abhimanyu Mishra |url=https://kids.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/young-achievers/abhimanyu-mishra |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=Guinness World Records |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|}

This is a list of the players who fulfilled the requirements to attain the title of Grandmaster before their 14th birthday. Players in italics have been [[Candidates Tournament|candidates]] for the World Chess Championship. Players in bold are or have been the [[World Chess Champion]].

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Grandmasters younger than 14 years old
!Player !!Country !!Age !!Birth year
|-
| [[Abhimanyu Mishra]] || {{USA}} || 12 years, 4 months, 25 days || 2009
|-
| <em>[[Sergey Karjakin]] </em> || {{UKR}} || 12 years, 7 months, 0 days || 1990
|-
| '''[[Gukesh Dommaraju]]''' || {{IND}} || 12 years, 7 months, 17 days || 2006
|-
| [[Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş]] || {{TUR}} || 12 years, 9 months, 29 days || 2011
|-
| [[Javokhir Sindarov]] || {{UZB}} || 12 years, 10 months, 8 days<ref>{{cite web|first=Macauley|last=Peterson|date=18 October 2018|title=Sindarov: second youngest GM ever|url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/javokhir-sindarov-second-youngest-gm-ever|website=[[ChessBase]]|archive-url=https://archive.ph/0tk5x|archive-date=22 August 2025|url-status=live}}</ref> || 2005
|-
| <em>[[R Praggnanandhaa]]</em> || {{IND}} || 12 years, 10 months, 13 days || 2005
|-
| [[Nodirbek Abdusattorov]] || {{UZB}} || 13 years, 1 month, 11 days || 2004
|-
| [[Parimarjan Negi]] || {{IND}} || 13 years, 4 months, 22 days || 1993
|-
| '''[[Magnus Carlsen]]''' || {{NOR}} || 13 years, 4 months, 27 days || 1990
|-
| [[Ivan Zemlyanskii]] || {{RUS}} || 13 years, 8 months, 21 days || 2010
|-
| [[Wei Yi]] || {{CHN}} || 13 years, 8 months, 23 days<ref>[http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8880 Wei Yi has become the youngest GM in the world] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228183844/http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8880 |date=28 February 2013 }}</ref> || 1999
|-
| [[Andy Woodward (chess player)|Andy Woodward]] || {{USA}} || 13 years, 8 months, 28 days || 2010
|-
| [[Raunak Sadhwani]] || {{IND}} || 13 years, 9 months, 28 days<ref name="Raunak">{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-sports/raunak-sadhwani-becomes-indias-65th-grandmaster/article29751356.ece |title=Raunak Sadhwani becomes India's 65th Grandmaster|newspaper=The Hindu|date=20 October 2019|last1=Rao|first1=Rakesh}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-sports/raunak-sadhwani-becomes-indias-65th-grandmaster/article29751356.ece |title=Raunak Sadhwani becomes India's 65th Grandmaster|newspaper=The Hindu|date=20 October 2019|last1=Rao|first1=Rakesh}}</ref> || 2005
|-
| [[Bu Xiangzhi]] || {{CHN}} || 13 years, 10 months, 13 days || 1985
|-
| [[Samuel Sevian]] || {{USA}} || 13 years, 10 months, 27 days<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fox2now.com/2014/11/23/youngest-ever-american-chess-grandmaster-crowned-in-st-louis/|title=Youngest-ever American Chess Grandmaster crowned in St. Louis|date=23 November 2014|access-date=8 August 2017}}</ref> || 2000
|-
| <em>[[Richárd Rapport]]</em> || {{HUN}} || 13 years, 11 months, 6 days<ref>{{cite web|url=http://players.chessdom.com/richard-rapport-gotth-art-kupa|title=Richard Rapport Becomes Hungary's Youngest Grandmaster - Chessdom|website=players.chessdom.com|access-date=8 August 2017|archive-date=28 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728003532/http://players.chessdom.com/richard-rapport-gotth-art-kupa|url-status=dead}}</ref> || 1996
|-
|}
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). (Note that [[Judit Polgár]] was the youngest player of any gender to qualify for the grandmaster title when she did so.):<ref name="jpolgar_1" /><ref name="jpolgar_2" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+Youngest female grandmasters
!Year !!Player !!Country !!Age
|-
|-
| 1978 || [[Nona Gaprindashvili]] || {{URS}} || 37 years
|-
| 1984 || [[Maia Chiburdanidze]] || {{URS}} || 23 years
|-
| 1991 || [[Susan Polgar]] || {{HUN}} || 21 years
|-
| 1991 || [[Judit Polgár]] || {{HUN}} || 15 years, 4 months<ref name="jpolgar_1" /><ref name="jpolgar_2" />
|-
| 2002 || [[Koneru Humpy]] || {{IND}} || 15 years, 1 month<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/humpy-emerges-winner-at-elekes/articleshow/11312648.cms|title=Humpy emerges winner at Elekes|date=29 May 2002|access-date=7 September 2023|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=333 |title=Humpy beats Judit Polgar by three months |work=Chess News |date=31 May 2002|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>
|-
| 2008 || [[Hou Yifan]] || {{CHN}} || 14 years, 6 months<ref>[http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/3263-wccc-nalchik-2008-and-now-there-were-just-four WWCC - Nalchik 2008 - and now there are just four!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913000643/http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/3263-wccc-nalchik-2008-and-now-there-were-just-four|date=13 September 2008}}, [[FIDE]] web site, 9 September 2008

</ref>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{portal|Chess}}
* [http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2858 Chessbase news about young Grandmasters]

{{Chess}}

[[Category:Chess players|*]]
[[Category:Chess terminology|prodigy]]
[[Category:Giftedness]]
[[Category:Childhood]]
[[Category:Intelligence]]