20-2-2024 (SINGAPORE) In a remarkable feat at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus-Open on Sunday (Feb 18), eight-year-old Ashwath Kaushik made history as the youngest chess player to defeat a grandmaster in a classical game. His three-hour battle against Polish grandmaster Jacek Stopa ended with a triumphant grin, setting a new record at Hotel Stadthaus in Burgdorf, Switzerland.
Ashwath, an Indian citizen residing in Singapore for the past seven years, proudly represents the Republic on the international chess stage. A Grade 3 pupil at Overseas Family School in Pasir Ris, Ashwath expressed his excitement, stating, “It’s a very exciting feeling and amazing to be able to beat my first grandmaster on the board, and it’s in classical (chess), so I feel very proud of myself.”
The young chess prodigy had his eyes set on breaking the record set just days earlier by Leonid Ivanovic, who defeated a grandmaster at the age of eight years, 11 months, and seven days. Ashwath had won his first three games in the tournament before facing Stopa, and the anticipation of rewriting the record motivated him to pursue the victory.
During the intense game, Stopa offered a draw on the 13th move, which Ashwath declined. Seizing an opportunity created by Stopa’s mistake towards the end of the game, Ashwath secured the historic win.
Despite the jubilation, there was little time for celebration as Ashwath had another game against Englishman Harry Grieve, which he unfortunately lost. His mother, Rohini Ramachandran, commented, “We were all really happy, but he had to quickly refocus, so I don’t think we had a lot of time to celebrate right after the game. But we’ll definitely do some celebration when we’re back home with the whole family.”
Introduced to chess at the age of four by his parents Sriram Kaushik and Ramachandran, Ashwath quickly demonstrated a natural aptitude for the game, beating his parents and grandparents within a couple of months. He now dedicates about two hours each weekday and six to seven hours on weekends to chess, actively participating in tournaments around the world.
While chess poses challenges such as lengthy games and frequent travel, Ashwath’s parents emphasize the importance of balance in his life. Sriram Kaushik, managing director at a management consulting firm, stated, “The key is to have balance and not set unrealistic timelines and records because the reality is that the kid is not pursuing it full-time, so that’s important.”
