Ashwath Kaushik, a little boy of eight years of Indian origin and currently residing in Singapore for the past six years, stunned the whole world with his stupendous performance. He defeated Polish chess grandmaster Jacek Stopa at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland.
With this, he scripted the history of being the youngest chess player ever to beat a grandmaster in a classical chess match. “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 said, who is ranked world No. 37,338 on FIDE. He also revealed that one of his objectives is to become a ‘world champion’ and he is also keen on introducing his four-year-old brother Atharv to the game.
The previous record was held by Serbia’s then eight-year-old Leonid Ivanovic, who became the first player under the age of 9 to beat a Year-old Bulgarian grandmaster, Milko Popchev at the Belgrade Open almost a week ago.
While many 8-year-olds still struggle with their daily routines, Kaushik has already displayed an astounding attitude at the game. His achievements have taken the world into awe. He first received the limelight when he won triple gold in the Under-8 category of the Eastern Asian Youth Championship in 2022 and he was a mere 6-year-old child! In the very same year, he also became the World Under-8 Rapid Champion.
But on February 18, 2024, Ashwath achieved his most remarkable feat yet by defeating 37-year-old Jacek Stopa, in the fourth round of the event. The match carried on for three hours and Ashwath showed his calm and patient attitude, despite being at a disadvantage at one stage. He somehow managed to turn the tables in his favour and secured the win.
His victory is not only a personal affair but also a milestone for the game. He is amongst the 12 players in history who have beaten a grandmaster before the age of 10, and two of them have done so only at 8.
According to Chess.com, the 8-year-old spends seven hours a day on chess and solves thousands of puzzles on his old chess program. His father, Kaushik Sriram revealed that his son has a photographic memory, saying, “He solves long complex puzzles visually. He finished GM Jacob Aagaard’s entire Grandmaster series recently without using a board.”
Singaporean grandmaster and CEO of the Singapore Chess Federation Kevin Goh lauded Ashwath’s feat on ‘X’, saying, “Dad is super supportive, the boy is dedicated, the school allows flexibility and of course, he has natural talent.”
His success would surely inspire many young chess players all around the globe.
