3-year-old Indian boy earns official chess rating

Chess pieces are seen set on a board. (Matthew Twin via Pexels)

NEW DELHI, India -- India’s Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha has become the youngest player in chess history to earn an official FIDE rating at the age of three years, seven months and 20 days.

The chess prodigy edged out the previous record of compatriot Anish Sarkar, who was three years, eight months and 19 days when he reached the milestone in November last year.

Kushwaha, who is enrolled in nursery school in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, holds a rapid rating of 1,572.

To achieve a rating from FIDE, the International Chess Federation, a player needs to beat at least one FIDE-rated player.

A rating is a score that measures a chess player’s strengths based on their performances and is not the same as a ranking.

World number one Magnus Carlsen is the top in rapid chess with a rating of 2,824.

Kushwaha’s father Siddharth Singh called his son’s achievement “a matter of great pride and honour,” Indian media quoted him as saying.

“We want him to become a grandmaster.”

Kushwaha defeated three rated players in events across his state and other parts of the country to secure his record-breaking status.

India is a stable of chess grandmasters and has produced top stars including latest world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and five-time World Cup winner Viswanathan Anand.