8-year-old boy makes history becoming youngest to defeat grandmaster in chess

An 8-year-old boy made history on Sunday when he became the youngest person to defeat a grandmaster in classical chess.

Ashwath Kaushik, who was born in India and lives in Singapore, defeated 37-year-old Jacek Stopa, of Poland, at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland.

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Eight-year-old Ashwath Kaushik began playing chess at 4 years old. (JERRY HOLT/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

"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," the child told Chess.com.

Ashwath broke the record set last month by Leonard Ivanovic, of Serbia. Leonard defeated 59-year-old grandmaster Milko Popchev. He was the first player under the age of 9 to defeat a grandmaster. On Tuesday, Ashwath was the second. He’s five months younger than Leonard.

According to Chess.com, Ashwath began to make a name for himself when he was just 6 years old. He won triple gold in the under-8 category of the Eastern Asian Youth Championship in 2022. His profile reached new heights when he won the World Under-8 Rapid Championship in 2022.

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Eight-year-old Ashwath Kaushik defeated 37-year-old Jacek Stopa at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland. (Fairfax Media via Getty Images via Getty Images)

"Till then we didn't quite know how he would do at a global level," Ashwath’s father, Kaushik Sriram, told the website.

Sriram said his son picked up the game at the age of 4, playing against his grandparents. He called his son’s meteoric rise in the game "surreal."

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"It's surreal as there isn't really any sports tradition in our families. Every day is a new discovery, and we sometimes stumble in search of the right pathway for him."

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