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In a groundbreaking achievement, 8-year-old chess prodigy Aswath Kaushik has entered the record books as the youngest player ever to defeat a chess grandmaster. The historic win took place at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland, where Kaushik, originally from India but residing in Singapore, outplayed 37-year-old Jacek Stopa of Poland.
Chess.com reported that Kaushik's triumph comes just days after Serbia's Leonid Ivanovic, aged 8 years and 11 months, previously held the title of the youngest player to defeat a grandmaster. However, Kaushik, at 8 years and 7 months, now claims the record.
Grandmaster is the highest title awarded by the World Chess Federation, denoting the best chess players globally, with only approximately 2,100 players earning this prestigious distinction.
Speaking about his achievement, Kaushik expressed excitement, saying, "It felt really exciting and amazing, and I felt proud of my game and how I played, especially since I was worse at one point but managed to come back from that."
Kaushik's father, Sriram Kaushik, shared with Chess.com that his son learned the game's rules at the age of four and developed his skills independently, playing with his grandparents. Despite neither parent being a chess enthusiast, Aswath dedicates up to seven hours a day to chess, solving intricate puzzles visually.
With a series of global tournaments already under his belt, Kaushik has ambitious goals for the future. He aspires to become the world champion and aims to achieve a chess player rating of 2000, a goal he is on the brink of attaining.
[Source: CBS News]
