The title of World Chess Champion is very heavy and prestigious and although there are many great minds in chess, there are only a select few who have achieved success at a young age.
Here are the five youngest world chess champions:
Gukesh Dommaraju (India)
Photo courtesy: fide.com
In a dramatic finale, 18-year-old D. Gukesh defeated Ding Liren of China and became 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 in under-20s. 9th edition of Asian Schools Chess Championship in 2015.
But 2023 was an eventful year for Gukesh when he exposed himself to the world as the youngest player to reach a rating of 2750. The same year, he overtook Vishwanathan Anand as the top-ranked Indian chess player and won India’s first Chess Olympiad. Sleep
Garry Kasparov (Russia)
Photo courtesy: 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 trained by former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik.
In 1996, famously, Kasparov defeated an IBM custom-built chess computer called Deep Blue. However, after an upgrade in 1997, the machine overpowered Kasparov. He later retired from competitive chess in 2005.
Interestingly, he also started a political organization named United Civil Front to oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
Photo courtesy: fide.com
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 being – 2882. His father taught him to play at the age of 5.
He created history by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2013 at the age of 22. Carlsen was only 13 when he drew Garry Kasparov and defeated Anatoly Karpov in the same tournament in 2004.
Mikhail Tal (Latvia-Soviet Union)
Photo courtesy: fide.com
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 significant moment in chess history.
Anatoly Karpov (Russia)
Photo courtesy: fide.com
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 he was the highest rated player for 100 months.
Later, he became a politician and served as a member of the State Duma for the party list of Tyumen Oblast.
