3-Year-Old Player Makes Chess History

A 3-year-old chess player from India has become the youngest in history to receive an official ranking from the International Chess Federation (FIDE). To receive a ranking, a player must win a match against at least one FIDE-ranked player, or score points against at least five rated opponents, per the Guardian and New York Times. Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha of India defeated five of eight rated opponents to receive his rating at the age of three years, seven months, and 20 days, the Times reports.

The boy bests fellow Indian Anish Sarkar, who was a month older when he received his ranking in November 2024, per the Guardian. A FIDE rating is a score based on performance, separate from player rankings. The minimum rating is 1,400. Top-ranked player Magnus Carlsen's rating is 2,824. Sarwagya's father, Siddharth Singh, says he hired a chess coach for his young son last year after noticing "his mind was a sponge," per the Times. He's now considered an "expert." The rating is "a matter of great pride and honor for us," the father adds, noting he hopes Sarwagya eventually becomes a grandmaster. (A 10-year-old girl just received the master title.)