Made it! Abhi youngest GM in history!

6/30/2021 – This remarkable lad from Englishtown, New Jersey, playing with great determination under Covid restrictions in Hungary, has scored his third and final GM norm. He has earned the title at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days, which is 66 days sooner than Sergey Karjakin in 2002. This comes after he had broken the record of youngest US master (at nine years and two months), and youngest International Master ever (at 10 years, nine months, and three days). Congratulations, Abhi!

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US Chess Press Release:

American Abhimanyu (“Abhi”) Mishra is the Youngest Grandmaster in History! 

Twelve-year-old from Englishtown, New Jersey breaks 19-year-old record with 66 days to spare 

CROSSVILLE, TN: 12-year-old grandmaster Abhimanyu (“Abhi”) Mishra from Englishtown, New Jersey is the youngest grandmaster (GM) in history, breaking the record formerly held by Russian GM Sergey Karjakin. Karjakin set the record in 2002 and went on to unsuccessfully challenge GM Magnus Carlsen in a 2016 World Championship match. 

At age 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days, Mishra earned his third and final norm (a performance-level measure) on June 30, 2021 at the Vezerkepzo GM Mix tournament in Budapest, Hungary, defeating GM Leon Luke Mendonca to take the final step on his long journey to grandmaster. He had already fulfilled the rating requirement, breaking the 2500 Elo mark in June, and FIDE—the World Chess Federation—must still confirm the record. With Karjakin having earned his title at age 12 years and 7 months, Mishra bettered the previous mark by approximately 66 days. 

This is not Mishra’s first record shattered. He was the youngest master in U.S. history at nine years and two months, and the youngest International Master ever at 10 years, nine months, and three days, breaking the record previously held by GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa by 17 days. 

The US Chess Federation (US Chess) is the official governing body and nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization for chess players and chess supporters in the United States. Our mission is to empower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chess. Our vision is that chess is recognized as an essential tool that is inclusive, benefits education and rehabilitation, and promotes recreation and friendly competition. 

Photo: Mishra: Photo by Justin N. Lane, jnlane.com/Courtesy of US Chess. Chess Life Cover: Courtesy of US Chess

Sagar Shah describes the final game Abhi faced to make his norm

Youngest Grandmasters in History

Nr Name Nat y m d born GM
1 Abhimanyu Mishra USA 12 4 25 2009 2021
2 Sergey Karjakin UKR 12 7 0 1990 2002
3 Dommaraju Gukesh IND 12 7 17 2006 2019
4 Javokhir Sindarov UZB 12 10 10 2005 2018
5 Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu IND 12 10 13 2005 2018
6 Nodirbek Abdusattorov UZB 13 1 11 2004 2017
7 Parimarjan Negi IND 13 4 22 1993 2006
8 Magnus Carlsen NOR 13 4 27 1990 2004
9 Wei Yi CHN 13 8 23 1999 2013
10 Raunak Sadhwani IND 13 9 28 2005 2019
11 Bu Xiangzhi CHN 13 10 13 1985 1999
12 Samuel Sevian USA 13 10 27 2000 2014
13 Richard Rapport HUN 13 11 15 1996 2010
14 Teimour Radjabov AZE 14 0 14 1987 2001
15 Ruslan Ponomariov UKR 14 0 17 1983 1997
16 Nihal Sarin IND 14 1 1 2004 2018
17 Awonder Liang USA 14 1 20 2003 2017
18 Wesley So PHI 14 1 28 1993 2007
19 Etienne Bacrot FRA 14 2 0 1983 1997
20 Illya Nyzhnyk UKR 14 3 2 1996 2010
21 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 14 4 0 1990 2005
22 Peter Leko HUN 14 4 22 1979 1994
23 Jorge Cori PER 14 5 15 1995 2009
24 Hou Yifan CHN 14 6 2 1994 2008
25 Jeffery Xiong USA 14 6 25 2000 2014
26 Anish Giri RUS 14 7 2 1994 2009
27 Yuriy Kuzubov UKR 14 7 12 1990 2004
28 Bogdan Daniel Deac ROM 14 7 27 2001 2016
29 Dariusz Swiercz POL 14 7 29 1994 2009
30 Alireza Firouzja IRN 14 8 2 2003 2018
31 Aryan Chopra IND 14 9 3 2001 2016

Our readers are welcome to help us keep this list up to date!

ChessBase stories

  • 5/8/2021 – Will he break the world record?
  • He learnt the rules of chess when he was two and a half years old. He became the youngest national expert at the age of seven, and the youngest National Master in the US at the age of nine. In late 2019, he beat R. Praggnanandhaa's record of becoming the youngest IM ever. Meet Abhimanyu Mishra, a youngster who lives in New Jersey, USA. Abhimanyu is an amazing talent and is now going after the record of becoming the youngest GM in history. In spite of the Covid pandemic. And you can help him achieve his goal!
     
  • 5/11/2021 – Second GM norm for Abhimanyu
  • 12-year-old Abhimanyu Mishra scored his 2nd GM norm at the First Saturday GM Round Robin May 2021 with a round to spare. This is the second consecutive event in which Abhimanyu has scored a GM norm, with a dominating 2700+ performance. He is now just 29 Elo points and one GM norm away from becoming the world's youngest grandmaster. Abhi has annotated his eighth round game for us, and will play against ChessBase Premium Members tomorrow.
     
  • 5/25/2021 – Abhimanyu eight points from the title
    This is a 12-year-old on a mission: to become the youngest chess grandmaster in history. Abhimanyu Mishra has made two norms, but in his latest tournament suffered a setback: in time trouble refused a draw offer by a GM and discovered that this is not such a great idea. Abhi lost the game, and a second one to boot, but staged a remarkable comeback with four back-to-back wins. He gained nine rating points and is currently just eight points from his goal. Read the messages of encouragement the lad from Englishtown, New Jersey, is getting from well-known personalities from all over the world.  

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