9-Year-Old Ashwath Kaushik Sensationally Scores First IM Norm In France

Nine-year-old CM Ashwath Kaushik from Singapore has added another milestone to his young chess career by sensationally scoring his first international master (IM) norm at the 10th Marina Viva Porticcio Open in Corsica, France. Ashwath is just the third player to achieve the feat before turning 10.

When Chess.com in early 2024 reported that Ashwath had broken the record for being the youngest-ever to defeat a grandmaster in a classical game, it made headlines all over the world and a place in Guinness World Records.

Fewer than 18 months later, the record still stands, and the prodigy has taken a major step forward with another notable achievement. In the strong 73-player field on the Mediterranean French island, Ashwath was ranked just 49th, but he finished ninth, scoring a performance that is sure to draw attention from the chess world, as well as his home country, Singapore.

Ashwath defeated three IMs and one FM and scored 6/9, concluding with a stunning 2444 performance, sufficient for his first IM norm. The achievement makes Ashwath, at 9 years, 10 months, and 27 days, just the third player to score an IM norm before the age of 10. In 2023, IM Faustino Oro became the first one to achieve the feat, while IM-elect Roman Shogdzhiev broke that record in December by more than a month.

“It feels really good. I was not expecting this,” Ashwath said in a comment to Chess.com. “My main goal was just to play my best and improve as much as I could.”

It feels really good. I was not expecting this.
—Ashwath Kaushik

He also credited his great time management as a key to his good score.

Ashwath got off to a flying start by winning his first two games. He is particularly proud of his round-two win against 2428-rated Hao (ZJ) Wang, whose IM title is pending approval.

The norm was secured in the final round thanks to a dramatic time-scramble win against FM Luitjen Akselsson Apol. 

Ashwath belongs to a post-pandemic generation of prodigies who learned chess during the global lockdowns and have since scored results few would imagine possible. Among them are FM Ethan Pang, who held the record for the youngest-ever to achieve a 2200 classical FIDE-rating, and CM Luca Protopopescu from France, who recently surpassed it.

Many of these players boast a rating of more than 2050 before even turning 10. Here is the list of the highest-rated players born in 2015 or later.

Ashwath, on the other hand, gains more than 170 rating points from his performance in France, according to his father, which could take him from seventh to second on the list next month.

It’s worth noting that a classical rating doesn’t tell the full story, as CM Aarit Kapil proved last week. The Indian nine-year-old is “only” ranked 20th among players born after 2015, but nearly defeated none other than GM Magnus Carlsen in Chess.com’s Titled Tuesday. The game eventually ended in a draw.

GM Kevin Goh Wei Ming, CEO of the Singapore Chess Federation, praised Ashwath’s result: “Naturally, we are all very pleased for him and his family. I knew that he had become stronger in the last two years, but this does not necessarily translate to results as there are many other factors to consider. So yes, I was a little surprised but not entirely as he always had the talent and potential.”

I was a little surprised but not entirely as he always had the talent and potential.
—Kevin Goh Wei Ming on Ashwath Kaushik

The chess federation does not want to take any credit for Ashwath’s success but instead praises the family’s holistic approach.

“They have placed him in an international school with flexibility in schooling arrangements, finding private lessons, investing time to bring him around the world for tournaments, and allowing him the time and space to grow at a comfortable pace rather than trying to smash records. That should certainly be emphasized,” Goh said, adding: “At this point we are just delighted for the family knowing how hard they have worked.”

Ashwath was born in India but is being raised in Singapore, where he has lived with his family since he was two. The nine-year-old also thanks his coaches, in particular German GM Ilja Zaragatski, who has trained him for more than four years, along with GM Stany G.A and FM Guttula Balaji, who have also contributed.

“I would like to thank all my coaches for their patience and guidance to help improve my playing level,” Ashwath told Chess.com.

His father, Kaushik Sriram, expresses the importance of maintaining balance, especially for children in a competitive environment: “It shows the importance of balance and not to let any sport or pursuit become the sole definition of oneself, but to have other interests and active school life to sometimes counteract the inevitable troughs of sport,” he wrote on Facebook.