An 8-year-old from Singapore has become the youngest chess player to beat a grandmaster.
Ashwath Kaushik was just 8 years, 6 months and 11 days old when he beat Polish grandmaster Jacek Stopa on February 18. Ashwath broke the record, which was only just set in January, when the Serbian player Leonid Ivanovic — then 8 years and 11 months old — became the first player under the age of 9 to beat a grandmaster.
Ashwath, who was taking part in a chess tournament in Switzerland, had won his first three games before playing against Stopa. At one point in the game, Stopa offered Ashwath a draw, but the boy refused and went on to win the game. Speaking about his win, Ashwath said, “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.”
Ashwath, who was born in India, moved to Singapore with his family six years ago, and now represents the island country in international chess events. When Ashwath was 4 years old,
he first started playing chess with his grandparents. After just a couple of months, he was beating them. He now plays chess for two hours a day on weekdays, and six to seven hours a day on weekends. However, he still finds time for other activities like cycling, visiting the zoo with his family and completing jigsaw puzzles.
Asked why he likes chess, Ashwath explained,“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.”
