When legendary chess champion Bobby Fischer became a grandmaster at 15, the chess world was stunned.
He was the youngest in history to earn the elite title up to that point. People predicted, correctly, that he would go on to win the world championship.
But grandmasters are getting younger and younger. The current record-holder is Abhimanyu Mishra of New Jersey. He earned the title last year at the age of 12 years and four months, a record that is almost certain to be eclipsed by the next generation of players.
It was a logical progression for the American prodigy, who was a rated expert at the age of seven and the world’s youngest international master at 10. Mishra completed two grades in one year and then dropped out of school for a year to achieve the goal, practicing chess for 12 hours a day.
Now he says his aim is to become a top grandmaster and ultimately the world champion.
But success at an early age is never a guarantee of winning a world championship. Of the 40 or so players who have become grandmasters before the age of 15, Magnus Carlsen is the only one to have been crowned world champion.
Donald Byrne v Bobby Fischer, New York, 1956
The Globe and Mail
What does 13-year-old Bobby Fischer play here for Black?
Fischer comes up with a move that led this to be called the game of the century. 17. … Be6!!. Declining the Queen sacrifice leads to immediate trouble, but if 18.Bxb6 Bxc4+ 19.Kg1 Ne2+ 20.Kf1 Nxd4+ Fischer has a windmill attack and is eventually winning.