A 15-year-old boy from Woolwich has become the youngest British chess grandmaster.
Shreyas Royal achieved the title at the British Chess Championships in Hull on Sunday, surpassing the previous UK record holder David Howell who became a grandmaster aged 16 in 2007.
The chess prodigy earned his first “norm” - a high-level performance benchmark - at the Bavarian Open in November 2022, with three “norms” required to win the grandmaster title.
Speaking to The Times newspaper from the family home in south-east London, dad Jitendra Singh said: “I am so extremely proud of Shreyas. It is a huge achievement for him and one he has been working towards for many years.
“To be the youngest-ever British grandmaster is fantastic.”
Shreyas, who came to Britain at the age of three, has been called the UK's greatest chess talent in a generation.
His family previously faced having to leave the country as his father's work visa was due to expire.
But the English Chess Federation and several politicians appealed to then Home Secretary Sajid Javid to let the family stay.
Mr Singh was then awarded a visa for skilled workers and given permission to apply for leave to remain because of his son’s exceptional talent.
Shreyas has previously said he would like to become the world chess champion by the age of 21.
“I recall setting this when I was around seven years old,” he said in an interview with the Olympics website last year.
“I will admit, I was very optimistic, but it was set as a starting point that would keep me hungry to work and get better at chess.
“Nowadays, a more realistic and mature me, I would be content with being a consistent top 10 chess player in the future.”
