Abhimanyu Mishra became the youngest chess Grandmaster ever at just 12 years old.

Abhimanyu Mishra from New Jersey earned the Grandmaster title on June 30, 2021. He was 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days old. This broke the previous record held by Sergey Karjakin, who became a Grandmaster at 12 years and 7 months in 2002.To become a Grandmaster, a player must reach a skill rating of 2500. This rating is tracked by the International Chess Federation, known as FIDE. Players must also earn three 'norms.' A norm is a high-performance score earned in a tournament against other top-ranked players.Mishra spent over 10 hours every day studying chess. He traveled to Budapest, Hungary, to play in several tournaments in a row. He secured his final requirement by defeating Grandmaster Leon Luke Mendonca. Mishra had already become the youngest National Master in the United States at age 9.Chess records are being broken faster because of technology. In 1958, Bobby Fischer became a Grandmaster at age 15. Today, young players use powerful computer programs to practice. These tools help them learn strategies much faster than players could in the past.