A three-year-old chess prodigy from India has become the youngest player in history to earn an official rating from the International Chess Federation (Fide). Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha, aged three years, seven months and 20 days, achieved the milestone by defeating at least one Fide-rated player.
Kushwaha, who is enrolled in nursery school in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, holds a rapid rating of 1,572. He broke the previous record held by compatriot Anish Sarkar, who was three years, eight months and 19 days old when he earned his rating in November last year.
To secure his record, Kushwaha defeated three rated players in tournaments across his home state and other parts of the country. A Fide rating measures a player's strength based on performance, unlike a ranking. World No 1 Magnus Carlsen leads rapid chess with a rating of 2,824.
Kushwaha's father, Siddharth Singh, expressed pride in his son's achievement, telling Indian news channel ETV Bharat: 'It's a matter of great pride and honour for us that our son has become the youngest chess player in the world to achieve a FIDE ranking. We want him to become a grandmaster.'
India has a strong tradition in chess, producing top players such as current world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and five-time World Cup winner Viswanathan Anand.
