11-Year-Old Shogdzhiev Breaks 18-Year Record As Youngest Ever To Score GM Norm

IM Roman Shogdzhiev has become the youngest player in chess history to score a grandmaster norm, breaking a record that had stood since 2008.

The 11-year-old Russian remained undefeated against the six grandmasters he faced and scored an impressive 6/9 at the Asian Individual Championship, which was held in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, from May 29 to June 6. 

Shogdzhiev was seeded just 50th in the 143-player field but finished 10th, ahead of experienced GMs such as Aditya Mittal, Xu Xiangyu, Evgeniy Najer, and Aleksey Grebnev. More importantly, his final round draw against GM Sasikiran Krishnan was enough to secure his first grandmaster norm. 

At 11 years, 4 months, and 1 day, Shogdzhiev broke GM Ilya Nyzhnyk’s 18-year-old record by roughly two and a half months. 

In his final-round draw against the experienced Indian grandmaster, Shogdzhiev was pressing most of the game, and the norm was never in danger. 

The Russian prodigy earned his points the hard way, fighting until the very end in every game. During his six games against grandmasters, he didn’t lose a single one. He defeated GMs Ilamparthi A R and Li Di, a key win in the eighth round. 

The achievement immediately puts Shogdzhiev in a position to target what is perhaps the most prestigious age record in chess: GM Abhimanyu Mishra’s mark as the youngest grandmaster in history.

Mishra earned the title in 2021 at 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days, which leaves Shogdzhiev with roughly one year to score two more norms and cross the 2500 rating mark. Recently, IM Faustino Oro missed that record by a few months, after achieving the title at 12 years and six months this year.

Shogdzhiev, Oro, and Turkiye’s GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus have long been considered three of the most exciting young prospects in the world today, regularly breaking age-related records.

The comparison with Oro, who is 1.5 years older, is inevitable. In a recent interview with Sport Express on how he feels about being compared with the Argentine prodigy, Shogdzhiev said: “I’m very relaxed about it. But, of course, I want to catch up and surpass…. We’re not friends; we don’t see each other often. The language barrier is also a hindrance.”

In addition to now having records for being the youngest IM and the youngest to score a grandmaster norm, Shogdzhiev is also the youngest ever to have a published 2400 rating. He is only the fourth 11-year-old to score a GM norm before the age of 12.

Shogdzhiev’s feat is unlikely to shock people who follow him closely. In April, he was only a last-round win away from scoring a norm in the Tashkent Open. His first grandmaster norm comes roughly one year after he smashed the record to become the youngest-ever international master three months after his 10th birthday.

Shogdzhiev’s rise has been closely followed since he was eight and defeated five grandmasters at the 2023 World Rapid & Blitz Championship in Uzbekistan. The performance even caught the attention of GM Magnus Carlsen, who said: “It’s fun to see! Maybe we’ll see him at the very top in a few years.”

Maybe we’ll see him at the very top in a few years.
—Magnus Carlsen about Roman Shogdzhiev

The prodigy learned chess from his father at the age of four. His mother, Saglara Shogdzhieva, said in a recent interview with Russian media: “I think it was fate because when my husband showed him the first moves, Roman never left that box again. He both woke up with chess and fell asleep with it.”

For Russian chess, which has been struggling in recent years, Shogdzhiev is the big hope. According to national media, the prodigy is homeschooled and is coached by seven grandmasters.

That team is led by two-time Russian Champion GM Evgeny Tomashevsky, who has been cautious about making predictions. “There is already a lot of pressure on him, so I wouldn’t make any more bold statements yet. I’ll just say that when you play like Roman at 10 years old, then if it’s not a unique case. It’s very close to it.”

Asked recently about his ultimate goal, Shogdzhiev gave a direct answer: “I want to become world champion. I just want to. That would be awesome!”

I want to become world champion. I just want to. That would be awesome!
—Roman Shogdzhiev

The Asian Championship featured an Open section and a Women’s section with a total of 245 players and served as a qualifier for the FIDE World Cup. The surprise winner was IM Xiangrui Kong from China on 7/9, edging GMs Tong Xiao, Zhamsaran Tsydypov, and Savva Vetokhin on tiebreaks. 

It was a sensational performance for the 2009-born teenager, who was ranked just 29th in the field with 34 grandmasters, including former top-10 GM Yu Yangyi.

The Women’s section was won by IM Savitha Shri B who scored 7.5/9 and edged WGM Afruza Khamdamova on tiebreaks.