Youngest Grandmasters in History

Sergey Karjakin

"Nowadays, if you're not a Grandmaster at 14, you can forget it."  -- World Champion Anand

When Vishy Anand spoke these fateful words, he referred to future contenders for the world title.  For dramatic effect, people freely cite this quote out of context.  And why not?  The number of precocious Grandmasters blossomed in the 21st century.  I still remember when Peter Leko turned heads in 1994 as the first 14 year old GM.  Thirteen have since surpassed the veteran Hungarian's old mark.

Amazingly, the record set by Sergey Karjakin more than a decade ago has not been seriously threatened.  He became the world's first preteen Grandmaster, and to date, he remains the only one!  Merely two managed to come within a year of this amazing mark.  And one of these former prodigies, Magnus Carlsen, has earned the right to challenge Anand for the world championship.  A victory in November by the Norwegian wonderboy would signal the changing of the guard to a new generation of young stars.

The 13-year old Chinese superstar Wei Yi currently holds the distinction as world's youngest Grandmaster, earning his final norm in February.  Who will be the next 13 or 14 year old GM?  Could it be an American?  And when will Karjakin's mark fall?

Progression of Youngest GM Record

• 1958 Bobby Fischer (USA) @ 15 yr, 6 mo
• 1991 Judit Polgar (HUN) @ 15 yr, 4 mo
• 1994 Peter Leko (HUN) @ 14 yr, 4 mo
• 1997 Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) @ 14 yr, 0 mo
• 1999 Bu Xiangzhi (CHN) @ 13 yr, 10 mo
• 2002 Sergey Karjakin (UKR) @ 12 yr, 7 mo

All-time Youngest Grandmasters
Source: Chessbase.com

1. Sergey Karjakin (UKR) @ 12 yr, 7 mo
2. Parimarjan Negi (IND) @ 13 yr, 4 mo
3. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) @ 13 yr, 4 mo
4. Wei Yi (CHN) @ 13 yr, 8 mo -- currently the youngest GM

   

   Wei Yi

5. Bu Xiangzhi (CHN) @ 13 yr, 10 mo
6. Richard Rapport (HUN) @ 13 yr, 11 mo
7. Teimour Radjabov (AZE) @ 14 yr, 0 mo
8. Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) @ 14 yr, 0 mo
9. Wesley So (PHI) @ 14 yr, 1 mo
10. Etienne Bacrot (FRA) @ 14 yr, 2 mo

... and a few notable others ...

• Hou Yifan (CHN) 14 yr, 6 mo -- youngest girl
• Ray Robson (USA) 14 yr, 11 mo -- American record
• Fabiano Caruana (ITA) 14 yr, 11 mo
• Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 15 yr, 2 mo
• Alejandro Ramirez (CRI) 15 yr, 5 mo