GM Yagiz Erdogmus - Young Chess Prodigies
In this edition of ChessKid Spotlight, we focus on the game's current youngest grandmaster: GM Yagiz Erdogmus.Learn All About Yagiz
Who is Yagiz Erdogmus?
Yagiz was born in Bursa, Turkey and was only six when he was introduced to chess by his kindergarten teacher. Since then, he's won multiple events at a young age, including a perfect score in the Under 8 section of the European Chess Championship. Soon after, he became the youngest International Master in the history of Turkey at age 11. He then went on to win two back-to-back ChessKid Youth Championships, and then most recently achieved the Grandmaster title at 12 years, 9 months, and 29 days! This makes him the youngest Grandmaster in the world, and the fourth youngest GM in the history of chess!
Newly crowned GM-Elect Yagiz contemplating his next move. (Photo: Sharjah Chess Club)
More Achievements
- Broke GM Judit Polgar's long-held record of highest rated player under 13, at an astounding 2569!
- Gained 500 rating points in one year (July 2021 - August 2022), from 1955 to 2456!!
- Beat a Grandmaster in only 14 moves.
- Has a peak FIDE rating of 2599 and is currently the #179 rated player in the entire world!
- Beat chess legend GM Evgeny Romanov in blitz 6-2, and has a peak blitz rating of 3141 on chess.com.
- At 11 years old, won the 2022 ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship.
- Yagiz became the first 13-year-old in history to surpass a FIDE classical rating of 2600, after an impressive performance rating of 2636 at the 2024 Chess Olympiad.
Yagiz Erdgomus with the ChessKid Peshka.
Yagiz' Father Says…
"Yagiz has a hobby that he really likes. He is just enjoying it and is not focusing on the rest that much."
Yagiz' appearance in the 2022 Youth Speed Chess Championship Finals!
Best Games
Here are a few of Yagiz' most stunning performances in his quest to reach Grandmaster!
FunMasterMike Says…
“Yagiz was the most dominant player in the history of the event when he won in 2022. Even Magnus Carlsen never went through the SCC with so few losses. I also found him and his family to be quite humble. I really liked that they didn't feel the need to chase the all-time record and just let Yagiz earn it in his own time.”
Yagiz recently had his GM title approved by FIDE!
Good luck to Yagiz in his upcoming tournaments. We are excited to see what you achieve next!