8-year-old chess prodigy breaks record after defeating 37-year-old grandmaster

A child prodigy has set a new record in the chess world by besting a grandmaster nearly 30 years older than him on Sunday.  

At just 8-years-old, Singaporean chess prodigy Ashwath Kaushik became the youngest player ever to defeat a grandmaster in a classic tournament game, Chess.com reported. 

Ashwath defeated 37-year-old Jacek Stopa from Poland in the fourth round of the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland.

“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 told Chess.com after his win.

The previous record was set just last month when 8-year-old Leonid Ivanovic of Serbia defeated grandmaster Awonder Liang, but Ashwath is almost five months younger than Leonid.

Ashwath finished the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in 12th place, and his chess rating is expected to increase after his historic performance. 

He had already made a name for himself prior to entering the tournament, most notably becoming the World Under-8 Rapid Champion in 2022.

Ashwath learned the rules of chess at the age of four from the online platform ChessKid, according to his dad, and he spends up to seven hours every day on game.

“He picked it up on his own, playing with his grandparents,” father Kaushik Sriram told Chess.com. “It’s surreal as there isn’t really any sports tradition in our families.”