Turkish chess player became the youngest athlete in the world, having passed 2600 Elo in chess

The Turkish Chess Federation statement states: "Our star athlete Yagiz Kaan Erdogmuş, the world’s youngest grandmaster, became the youngest athlete to pass 2600 Eels, thanks to his successful performance at the Abu Dhabi Chess Festival. At the moment, the rating of Elo Yaghiz Kaan is 2601. We congratulate our athlete and wish him success".

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmush is an international Turkish chess master born in Bursa on 3 June 2011. When he was only 8 years old, he attracted attention by becoming the 2019 European champion. In 2021, FIDE awarded him the title of candidate for master (CM), in 2022 he became a master of FIDE (FM) and in the same year - the youngest international master in Turkey. In 2024 he fulfilled his last rule at the open chess tournament in Grenca and received the title of grandmaster.

At the masters tournament in Sharjah in 2024 he also scored 2,569 Elo points, surpassing Judith Polgar’s record of 2,555th point, who remained undefeated for 34 years at the age of 13.

With the success of Yagiz Kaan, the number of grandmasters in Turkey has increased to 16. He ranks 4th among the youngest grandmasters in world chess history. There are currently only 185 players in the world with an Elo rating between 2601-2700.

The Elo rating system has been officially applied by the US Chess Federation since 1960 and the FIDE International Chess Federation since 1970. It is also used to evaluate the strength of players from other federations and sites, not necessarily chess, but also used in checkers, go, shogi and other games with two opponents.