The title of World Chess Champion is a heavy and prestigious one to carry, and while there are many great minds in chess, only a few have found a place in the sun at a young age.
Here are the five youngest world chess champions in the world:
Gukesh Dommaraju (India)
Photo credit: fide.com
In a dramatic final, 18-year-old D. Gukesh dethroned Ding Liren of China to become the youngest world chess champion in history in 2024. Gukesh started playing chess at the age of 7 and got his first taste of success at the Under-9 section of the Asian School Chess Championships in 2015.
But 2023 was an eventful year for Gukesh as he unleashed himself on the world as the youngest player with a rating of 2750. The same year, he outperformed Viswanathan Anand as the top-ranked Indian chess player and won India's first-ever Chess Olympiad. gold.
Gary Kasparov (Russia)
Photo credit: kasparov.com
Garry Kasparov was the youngest world chess champion at the age of 22 when he defeated Anatoly Karpov in 1985. He started playing chess at the age of 6 and at the age of 17 he became an international grandmaster in 1980. He was coached by former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik.
In 1996, Kasparov defeated a custom-made chess computer from IBM called Deep Blue. However, after an upgrade in 1997, the machine gained the upper hand over Kasparov. He later retired from competitive chess in 2005.
Interestingly, he also founded a political organization called the United Civil Front to oppose President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
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Magnus Carlsen is a chess superstar who became the highest rated player at the age of 19. He has the highest Elo chess rating ever achieved by a human: 2882. His father taught him to play at the age of 5.
He made history by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2013 at the age of 22. Carlsen was just 13 when he played Garry Kasparov and defeated Anatoly Karpov at the same event in 2004.
Mikhail Tal (Latvia-Soviet Union)
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At the age of 16, Mikhail Tal became a national master and at the age of 20 he became an international grandmaster.
He became the youngest world champion in 1960 at the age of 23. His victory over Mikhail Botvinnik is still considered a key moment in chess history.
Anatoli Karpov (Russia)
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Anatoly Karpov learned to play chess at the age of four. He became world champion in 1975 at the age of 23. His Elo rating was 2780 and was the highest rated player in 100 months.
Later he became a politician and served as a member of the State Duma for the Tyumen Oblast party list.
