Singapore: Eight-year-old Ashwath Kaushik, a Singaporean of Indian origin, has made history by defeating Polish Grandmaster Jacek Stopa in a classical chess game. Ashwath, who was playing for Singapore, beat the 37-year-old Stopa in the seventh round of the Bergdorfer Stadthaus Open tournament in Switzerland on Sunday, February 18, 2024. With this remarkable feat, Ashwath has become the world’s youngest chess player to beat a grandmaster in a classical chess format.
Ashwath, who started playing chess at the age of four, has been showing exceptional talent and dedication to the game. He has won several national and international tournaments, including the Asian Youth Chess Championship in 2022 and the World Youth Chess Championship in 2023. He is currently ranked world number 37,338 in the FIDE world rankings, with a rating of 2,021. He is also the youngest player in Singapore to achieve the FIDE Master title.
Ashwath’s achievement has been widely praised by the chess community and the public. Kevin Goh, a Singapore Grandmaster and the CEO of the Singapore Chess Federation congratulated Ashwath on his social media platform ‘X’. He wrote, “Ashwath’s father has been very supportive of him, and the boy is very hardworking. He has a bright future ahead of him, but it remains to be seen how far he can go as his interests may change as he grows older. Still, we are hopeful and proud of him.”
Ashwath has broken the record that was set just a few weeks ago by Serbia’s Leonid Ivanovic, who defeated 60-year-old Grandmaster Milko Popchev of Bulgaria at the Belgrade Open. Ivanovic is a few months older than Ashwath. Ashwath, who moved to Singapore in 2017, said, “I am proud of my game and the way I performed, especially when I was in a very difficult position at one point but managed to come back from there. I want to thank my coach, my parents, and my friends for their support and encouragement.”
