Look out, there’s another chess prodigy on the scene.
At eight years, six months and 11 days, Ashwath Kaushik made history on Sunday by becoming the youngest player ever to beat a chess grandmaster in a classical tournament game.
The youngster, who lives in Singapore, achieved the feat after beating Poland’s Jacek Stopa, 37, in round four of the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland.
The previous record was only just set last month by then eight-year-old Leonid Ivanovic – who became the first player under the age of nine to beat a grandmaster in a classical game – but Ashwath was five months younger than the Serbian when he beat Stopa, according to Chess.com.
“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,” Kaushik told Chess.com after beating Stopa.
Ashwath has earned the attention of some of the chess world's biggest names like Anish Giri. (Carleton Lim/Singapore Chess Federation)
Born in India in 2015, Ashwath has already made a name for himself after winning a number of youth tournaments around the world – notably becoming the World Under-8 Rapid champion in 2022, per Chess.com.
He finished 12th in this week’s tournament in Switzerland and plenty is expected of the youngster as he continues to compete against opponents with decades more experience.
In an interview with Chess.com, Ashwath’s father said neither he or his wife have a history of playing chess and it was a surprise to see his son, who he says practices around seven hours a day, become such a talented player.
“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,” his father, Kaushik Sriram, told Chess.com.
Cynthia Cardinal said she was 'overwhelmed' with happiness when she received a text message on Monday with the news that serial killer Robert Pickton, who murdered her sister, was attacked in prison. She called it 'karma.'
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Cynthia Cardinal said she was 'overwhelmed' with happiness when she received a text message on Monday with the news that serial killer Robert Pickton, who murdered her sister, was attacked in prison. She called it 'karma.'
Shelters in Canada are not designed to meet the physical or mental health needs of the growing number of older adults who are homeless, a report released Tuesday says.
Passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence on Tuesday described a sudden, dramatic drop as 'all hell broke loose' on board the Boeing airliner carrying 229 passengers and crew.
Aviation investigators arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday to learn how and why severe turbulence sent a Singapore Airlines plane into a sudden dive that tossed passengers and crew around the cabin, leaving a British man dead and dozens others injured.
Russian forces have started the first stage of exercises that involve 'practical training in the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,' the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
Donald Trump 's presidential campaign said Tuesday it would begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency as part of an effort to build what it calls a 'crypto army' leading up to Election Day.
A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday seeks the removal of a Confederate monument marked as 'in appreciation of our faithful slaves' from outside of a North Carolina county courthouse.
The Liberal government will bring its proposal to increase the inclusion rate on capital gains to the House of Commons before the parliamentary summer break, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.
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A northern Ontario public health authority is again advising individuals to protect themselves from the West Nile virus.
Nestle will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
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OpenAI on Monday said it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices that 'Her' actor Scarlett Johansson says sounds 'eerily similar' to her own.
Microsoft wants laptop users to get so comfortable with its artificial intelligence chatbot that it will remember everything you're doing on your computer and help figure out what you want to do next.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs has been accused of sexual assault in a new lawsuit filed on Tuesday by Crystal McKinney, a former model and winner of MTV's 1998 Model Mission competition show.
Misa Hylton, the mother of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' son Justin Combs, says her 'heart goes out' to Cassie Ventura in wake of the release of surveillance video footage showing Combs physically assaulting Ventura in 2016.
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
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Caitlin Clark signed a multiyear deal with Wilson Sporting Goods for a signature basketball line, the company announced Tuesday.
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h. (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
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Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says federal opposition parties should be 'celebrating' the recently announced electric vehicle deals, despite their criticisms the Liberals refuse to make public the terms and conditions laid out in the contracts.
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Nova Scotia's governing Progressive Conservatives easily retained the riding of Pictou West in a byelection held Tuesday, with first-time Tory candidate Marco MacLeod receiving more than four times the votes of his next-closest competitor.
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After four targeted shootings in four days, Mounties in Kamloops are taking the unusual step of warning the public about two men they believe are likely to be targeted in future violent incidents.
Lethbridge police hit the road over the May long weekend, as part of an ongoing traffic enforcement project.
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With just over two minutes remaining in the first overtime, Mirko Buttazzoni scored to give the Bandits a 4-3 victory over the Sherwood Park Crusaders Saturday in Brooks.
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Sault police did nothing wrong when a senior in a mental health crisis fractured his finger, Ontario’s police watchdog has concluded.
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79-year-old Madonna Wilkinson has been playing the accordion since she was 15, when she picked one up that had been left behind at one of her parents' rollicking parties in the oceanside town about 25 kilometres north of St. John's, N.L. She has played Sunday masses and St. Patrick's Day parties, and community events of all kinds.
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