Chess: Turkey’s Yagiz Erdogmus, 14, Reaches Record 2700 Rating – ‘now For 2800 And 2900’

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, 14, has go chess’s youngest 2700-rated grandmaster, breaking an property grounds group a decade agone by China’s Wei Yi astatine 15. The Turkish teen is already nan highest ever rated 12, 13, and 14-year-old, and nan youngest to scope nan world apical 50. For nan moment, his caller accomplishment only shows successful nan unrecorded regular ratings, but will go charismatic erstwhile Fide’s monthly database for May is published astatine nan extremity of nan month.

Veselin Topalov was nan world No 1 20 years agone and was nan Fide world champion. However, nan Bulgarian has been mostly inactive since he vanished seventh of 10 astatine Norway 2022 and nan rust showed successful his performance. For Erdogmus, it was his 3rd important lucifer success, pursuing his 4-2 triumph against nan eight-time Russian champion Peter Svidler and his 3.5-2.5 separator against France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. One of his wins from nan 2025 Fide Grand Swiss successful Samarkand has been dubbed nan “Turkish Immortal” owed to its brilliant sacrificial conclusion.

4021 Magnus Carlsen v Surya Ganguly, World Rapid Championship, Qatar 2016. Black (to move) chose 1…Rxa4? 2 h5 Qc4 3 Rd8+! Bxd8 4 Qe8+ Kh7 5 Qg6+ pinch a tie by perpetual check. How could nan Indian grandmaster person won? Illustration: The Guardian

Russia’s No 1 GM, Ian Nepomniachtchi, meanwhile, has accused Topalov of “donating his rating” to Erdogmus, adding that nan Bulgarian GM was a “very wise prime of opponent” successful bid to maximise nan Turkish teenager’s chances of entering nan elite 2700 club.

Erdogmus said that reaching 2700 “has been my dream for a agelong time. I americium ever trying to play bully chess first. Now I’ll effort to scope 2800. That’s my adjacent goal. But I cognize it will return a batch of clip and a bully woody of difficult work.” His sixth crippled against Topalov was peculiarly impressive, arsenic Erdogmus nursed a mini advantage, yet won a cardinal pawn, and converted pinch precise technique.

Erdogmus’s coach is Azerbaijan’s erstwhile world No 2 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who has helped him for nan past 2 years. “I want Yagiz to beryllium nan first 2900 player. That’s our goal,” he said. “People aren’t alert of 5% of Yagiz’s chess knowledge. He is astatine a level wherever he tin play immoderate opening he chooses from nan infinitesimal he wakes up.”

Erdogmus’s adjacent tourney will beryllium astatine nan opening of adjacent month, erstwhile nan yearly TePe Sigeman title takes spot successful Malmö, Sweden, from 1-7 May. The section is headed by nary little than Magnus Carlsen, making 1 of his progressively uncommon appearances successful a classical event. Other important entries successful nan eight-player section see nan in-form Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi, and Jorden van Foreest. Carlsen is connected grounds arsenic describing Erdogmus arsenic “the champion 14-year-old nan world has ever seen”.

Financial support for nan prodigy comes from nan Turkish billionaire entrepreneur Evren Ucok, whose backing has enabled Erdogmus to entree apical coaching and grandmaster competition. Ucok besides helps a mini number of different world talents, some boys and girls. The only non-Turkish woman successful his squad is Bodhana Sivanandan, who precocious became England’s No 1-rated female astatine nan property of conscionable 11.

The European individual championship, staged past week successful Katowice, Poland, ended pinch nan astir astonishing consequence successful its 26-year history. All nan erstwhile winners were grandmasters, but nan 2026 champion, Roman Dehtiarov, was still only an world master. Dehtiarov was besides nan youngest-ever victor astatine property 17, and nan lowest-ever seed, classed No 126 successful a grounds introduction of 501 players.

Dehtiarov comes from Kharkiv, eastbound Ukraine, which is adjacent to nan beforehand statement successful nan warfare pinch Russia. In 2022, an removal to England, wherever respective different Ukrainian talents now live, was arranged for his family, but nan past 14-year-old refused to wantonness his father.

Fide’s rules for nan European title see a proviso for its winner, if not already a grandmaster, to beryllium awarded nan title instantly. This meant that Dehtiarov began his last information game against his nearest rival David Anton, nan No 1 from Spain, knowing that triumph would springiness him nan GM title successful summation to nan €20,000 first prize and qualification for nan 2027 World Cup.

The European Championship was besides a occurrence for Azerbaijan, whose players took nan second, third, and 4th prizes. England’s trio of GM Matthew Wadsworth, GM Shreyas Royal, and IM Jonah Willow each scored 6.5/11 and had mini standing declines, while IM Aaravamudhan Balaji (6) and WFM Zoe Varney (5) played to their ratings.

England has traditionally been 1 of nan ascendant nations successful nan yearly World Senior Team Championships, whose 2026 version began astatine Durres, Albania, connected Sunday, and this twelvemonth has sent a grounds full of 56 players dispersed complete 12 teams, six successful nan over-65, wherever England are nan defending champions, and six successful nan over-50.

For immoderate chess subordinate who lived done it, nan English Chess Explosion of nan 1970s and 1980s was an exhilarating experience, pinch squad successes against nan mighty Soviets and individual achievements by Tony Miles, Nigel Short and others, truthful it is earthy that nan 2026 championships evoke a consciousness of à la recherche du temps perdu for older players.

England 50+ are strengthened by nan inclusion of GM Danny Gormally, who turns 50 successful May (Fide reckons each commencement dates from 1 January) and person nan eight-time reigning British champion Michael Adams connected apical board, but they are seeded down nan USA squad of chiefly ex-Soviets.

England 50+ won their first 3 matches, but were adjacent to dropping points against Canada, wherever Adams survived a mislaid position, and Iceland, whose erstwhile world title campaigner Jóhann Hjartarson missed respective bully chances until Adams yet survived successful an endgame of rook against 2 knights. The lucifer was turned information by nan England captain, GM John Emms, who produced a vintage insignificant portion ending successful nan last crippled to finish. Adams’s mediocre shape yet brought a zero successful information four, against Kazakhstan, erstwhile Gormally besides mislaid to offset wins by Mark Hebden, who scored pinch a zestful attack, and Emms successful a 2-2 draw.

England 65+ person GM John Nunn connected apical board, and won their first 3 matches, but drew each 4 games against Germany successful information four.

50+ aft 5 rounds (of nine): USA and Italy 9/10, Hungary and Alkaloid Macedonia 8, past 4 teams connected 7. England are seventh connected committee count aft losing to USA 1.5-2.5 (three draws and a nonaccomplishment for Hebden). 65+ aft 5 rounds: France 9/10, past 8 teams connected 8/10, including England who are 5th connected committee count aft a 2-2 tie pinch Israel (win for Paul Littlewood, nonaccomplishment for Peter Large).

There are much than 400 competitors successful Durres and photographs from nan playing hall show crowded conditions, pinch minimal abstraction betwixt boards. Looking astatine nan pictures, I was reminded of nan notorious Room 18 connected nan apical level of St Bride’s Institute, Ludgate Circus, nan longtime London League venue wherever erstwhile play started you were trapped successful your chair and had to manoeuvre your people expanse betwixt g1 and h1.

Play successful nan World Senior Teams continues connected Saturday pinch information six (of nine), pursuing Friday’s remainder day. The 5 apical matches from some nan 65+ and 50+ tin beryllium viewed live starting astatine 2.15pm BST.

4021 1…Rg4+! 2 Kxg4 Qg2+ 3 Kh5 Qf3 mate.