Indian-origin Abhimanyu Mishra becomes youngest-ever Chess Grandmaster in history

Indian-origin Abhimanyu Mishra becomes youngest-ever Chess Grandmaster in history

Abhimanyu Mishra, a 12-years old Indian-origin boy, became the youngest ever Grandmaster in Chess on June 30, 2021. Abhimanyu, from New Jersey, broke the record of 12 years and 7 months set by GM Sergey Karjakin in 2002. Abhimanyu Mishra at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days picked up his third GM norm in Budapest after having already crossed the 2500 Elo rating barrier. He achieved the feat at the Vezerkepzo Grandmaster mix tournament in Budapest, Hungary.

Abhimanyu secured a performance rating higher than 2600 over nine rounds, which also constitutes a GM norm. Having stayed in Budapest, he won his first GM norm in the April Vezerkepzo tournament and the second at the May 2021 First Saturday tournament. In the final round, he defeated the 15-year-old Indian GM Leon Luke Mendonca with the black pieces, securing a performance rating higher than 2600 over nine rounds. Mishra broke GM Sergey Karjakin’s record that has stood for 19 years. While it took Karjakin 12 years and 7 months to secure the grandmaster title in 2002, Mishra took just took 12 years, four months, and 25 days to obtain the gold standard in chess. Abhimanyu, notably, had earlier broken the record of India’s R Praggnanandhaa to become the youngest ever International Master.

Grandmaster is a title which is awarded to the chess players by the World Chess Organisation FIDE. Apart from the World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a Chess player can attain. The abbreviation IGM for the International Grandmaster is also sometimes used.