Chess prodigy

A chess prodigy is a young child who possesses an aptitude for chess that far exceeds what might be expected at their age. Their prodigious talent will often enable them to defeat experienced adult players and even titled chess masters. Some chess prodigies have progressed to become grandmasters or even World Chess Champions.

Early chess prodigies included Paul Morphy (1837–1884) and José Raúl Capablanca (1888–1942), both of whom won matches against strong adult opponents at the age of 12, and Samuel Reshevsky (1911–1992), who gave simultaneous exhibitions at the age of six. Morphy went on to become the world's leading player before the formal World Champion title existed. Capablanca became the third World Champion, and Reshevsky, while never becoming World Champion, was among the world's elite players for many decades.

In 1950, FIDE introduced the titles of international master (IM) and grandmaster (GM). One measure of chess prodigies is the age at which they earn each of these titles. In the below tables, the ages listed are the ages at which a player qualified for a title. This is not equal to the age at which they officially earned the title, because GM and IM titles can only be awarded at FIDE congresses. The country listed indicates the federation the player was affiliated with at the time of gaining the title, not their current or later affiliation.