Eight-year-old becomes youngest chess player to beat grandmaster

Ashwath Kaushik (left) and Polish GM Jacek Stopa (right).

An eight-year-old chess prodigy from Singapore has achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the youngest chess player to defeat a grandmaster. Ashwath Kaushik, aged eight years and six months, accomplished this milestone after a three-hour game at Switzerland’s Burgdorfer Stadthaus-Open, where he defeated the 37-year-old Polish grandmaster Jacek Stopa on Sunday, as reported by the Singapore Star.

Ashwath Kaushik, 8, has been named the youngest-ever player to defeat a grandmaster in a classical tournament game

He achieved the record at eight years, six months and 11 days old, beating Poland 's Jacek Stopa, 37, in round four of the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland

This achievement by Kaushik shattered the previous age record set just days before by Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia, who at eight years and 11 months old, defeated the Bulgarian Milko Popchev, 59. Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, faced off against the world No 2, Fabiano Caruana, in the freestyle chess final at Weissenhaus.

Reflecting on his victory, Kaushik expressed his excitement, stating, “It’s a very exciting feeling and amazing to be able to beat my first grandmaster on the board, especially in classical chess. I feel very proud of myself.” Originally from India, Kaushik moved to Singapore with his family seven years ago.

The trend of young chess players achieving remarkable records began a week prior, on February 12th in Belgrade, when Ivanovic became the first player under the age of nine to defeat a grandmaster in classical chess. According to Chess.com, there has been a surge in children achieving extraordinary results at even earlier ages, possibly influenced by the pandemic and a rating system lagging behind in keeping pace with their rise in skill.

Kaushik finished 12th in this week’s tournament in Switzerland. He plans to continue playing competitively until he becomes the world champion

Kaushik's father, Sriram, explained that his son picked up the sport on his own after learning the rules through online games

Kaushik's mother, Rohini Ramachandran, shared her joy over the win, stating, “We were all really happy but he had to quickly refocus so I don’t think we had a lot of time to celebrate right after the game, but we’ll definitely do some celebration when we’re back home with the whole family.”

Kaushik’s journey into chess began at the age of four when his parents introduced him to the game. Within a few months, he was already surpassing them and other family members. He now dedicates two hours each weekday and six to seven hours on weekends to playing chess.

Reflecting on his passion for the game, Kaushik remarked, “It’s really fun and it helps your brain get better and smarter because in chess you need a lot of thinking to find the best moves.”

Despite his success, Kaushik's parents face the challenge of ensuring he maintains a balanced diet, as he tends to snack on Juicy Drop candy, leading to fluctuations in energy levels.