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This may not be a record, but the world has a new youngest grandmaster. This is Ihor Samnenkov, a 14-year-old Ukrainian genius GM.
The teenager’s title was approved by the World Chess Federation FIDE this month after meeting all the requirements on September 26 last year.
Samnenkov, who became Ukrainian champion at just 12 years old, will take over as the new grandmaster from American general manager Abhimanyu Mishra, who turns 15 next month.
Samnenkov became a GM at the age of 14 years, 3 months and 15 days, making him one of the top 25 youngest grandmasters of all time.
Mishra still holds the record as the youngest grandmaster in history. Mishra was 12 years, 4 months and 25 days old when she achieved this feat in June 2021.
Samnenkov, from Kiev, is currently rated 2533 by FIDE. His blitz rating on Chess.com is his 2838. This young man has been considered a rising star in chess since he started playing professionally at the age of eight.
He became an FM in 2021 and beat four grandmasters this year at the World Rapid Championships in Warsaw with a rated performance of 2583. In the second round he drew with legendary GM Alexei Dreyev.
12-year-old Ihor Samnenkov is a rising star from Ukraine. In 2021, he became the National Rapid Champion (overall champion, not youth!) and a few days ago won the gold medal at the FIDE Online Cadets and Youth Rapid Super Finals U12 by defeating the youngest ever GM Abhimanyu Mishra. pic.twitter.com/yqqkepcLLo
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 26, 2021
He became an IM a year later and the title of GM was approved by the FIDE Council in 2023.
FIDE requires three “criteria” and over 2500 ratings to award the title. Samnenkov achieved his first standard record at the 2022 European Individual Championships in Slovenia. The second time was at the Veselkeptzo Summer Tournament in Budapest, Hungary, last July.
Samnenkov won the final quota at the Polish Team Championship in Lublin at the end of September, beating out four GMs. He passed the rating requirements in April 2023.
In October, shortly after his GM application was submitted, Samnenkov drew with Ukrainian legend Vasyl Ivanchuk in Round 1 of the FIDE Grand Suisse. He entered this tournament as a FIDE wildcard.
Today, a timeless battle will take place between two Ukrainian players. Vasyl Ivanchuk, born in 1969 and one of the oldest players on the field, will compete against Ihor Samnenkov, born in 2009, one of the youngest participants. #FIDE Grand Switzerland pic.twitter.com/Qjt1IdbNPs
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) October 25, 2023
Asked after the match if he aspired to become world champion someday, Samnenkov replied: “Of course, I think that’s everyone’s goal.”
Samnenkov’s achievements were welcomed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine. “By decision of the 3rd FIDE Council, 14-year-old Kivan Igor Samnenkov has been awarded the title of Grandmaster,” he said in a statement to the media.
Samnenkov is the latest Ukrainian talent to reach Grandmaster status at a young age. In 2002, GM Ruslan Ponomariov won the title in 14th and 17th, becoming the youngest world chess champion in history. Ponomariov became FIDE World Champion when he was 17 years old.
GM Sergey Karyakin also broke this record while representing Ukraine, but Mishra later broke the record at the age of 12 years and 7 months.
Who will be the world’s youngest successor to Samnenkov? The two candidates are 13-year-old American IM Andy Woodward and 12-year-old Turkish IM Yagiz Khan Erdogmus, both of whom are already in the race. It meets the rating requirement of 2500 points and will now need to meet GM standards.
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