Ashwath Kaushik just became the youngest chess player to beat a grandmaster, which is especially impressive when you consider that he’s only eight years old! During the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open, a chess tournament in Switzerland, the young boy won against 37-year-old Jacek Stopa. CBS News tells us that Ashwath, who was born in India, began to learn the game at age four. The chess prodigy now lives in Singapore, where he spends seven hours per day honing his skills.
As the youngest chess player to defeat a grandmaster, Ashwath Kaushik is on his way to achieving his greatest dream. What he really wants is to be named chess world champion! The 8-year-old told Chess.com that he’s thrilled by his latest victory.
“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,” he said.
Before Ashwath Kaushik became the youngest chess player to defeat a grandmaster, the honor belonged to 8-year-old prodigy Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia. However, Leonid was quickly dethroned by the other boy, who is only four months younger.
It’s amazing to see this level of skill and discipline in an 8-year-old boy. We’re sure that Ashwath Kaushik will continue to impress us!
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