"Unlike typical childhood activities like drawing on walls or exploring objects with curiosity, child prodigies spend their early years excelling in areas such as mathematics, music, art, and chess, honing their extraordinary talents from a young age."
An 8-year-old boy recently achieved a historic milestone by becoming the youngest person to ever defeat a grandmaster.
"Ashwath Kaushik, a young boy born in India and now residing in Singapore, recently achieved a remarkable victory. In an official tournament, he defeated 37-year-old Jacek Stopa from Poland."
In the fourth round of the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland, Ashwath shattered a chess record previously set by another 8-year-old player only a month ago.
"Leonid Ivanovic, a young chess prodigy from Serbia, recently became the youngest player, at under nine years old, to defeat a grandmaster, surpassing Awonder Liang's record."
Ashwath, who is five months younger than Leonid, soon claimed the title, making Leonid's victory short-lived.
To become a Grandmaster, chess players must earn this prestigious title from the international chess organization, FIDE. This title is second only to World Champion and represents the pinnacle of achievement in the chess world. Currently, there are approximately 2,100 individuals who have achieved this elite status.
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"After his victory, Ashwath shared his excitement and pride in his performance with Chess.com, highlighting his remarkable comeback after facing a challenging position in the game."
"In the history of classical chess, only 12 players have managed to defeat a grandmaster by the age of 10 or younger. Remarkably, all of these achievements have taken place since 2011. Notably, Ashwath and Leonid are the only players to have accomplished this feat at the age of 8."
"Sriram Kaushik, Ashwath's father, shared that his son started learning chess at the age of four using a kid-friendly chess website."
"He mentioned that neither he nor his wife participated in the game, while Ashwath initially played frequently against his grandparents."
“The boy dedicates up to seven hours each day to practicing and studying the game.”
Sriram shared, “It feels surreal because our families don't have any sports traditions. Each day brings new discoveries, and we often find ourselves searching for the best path forward for him.”