Child chess prodigy Shreyas Royal eyeing records at Bavarian Open

If Shreyas Royal can nail a score of 6.5/9 or more, it might be enough for his first grandmaster result.

Shreyas Royal. (Twitter/Deuchslan)

Greenwich teenager Shreyas Royal is in the lead at the Bavarian Open and has a chance at glory and becoming the youngest English grandmaster.

Playing at the 25th Open International Bavarian Championships, won his first five matches and after six rounds and a short draw against Eltaj Safarli (Elo 2616), Royal is at 5.5/6.

However, Shreyas’ story is rather an interesting one as he came to the England shores as a three-year-old with his family from India.

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His father, who was supposed to work in the IT sector, managed to procure a five-year visa, during which the youngster mastered his skills in Chess.

He went on to become the English U7 champion, British U8 champion, U8 European champion.

But then the visa expired and the matter ended up in a legal tussle but considering his once-in-generational talent, Home Secretary Sajid Javid intervened and made sure that the family of the exceptionally talented Shreyas Royal was allowed to stay in England.

Receiving a chess masterclass from child prodigy Shreyas Royal. Star of the future #ChequersMate pic.twitter.com/VuQ22urw0f

— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) October 17, 2018

The tournament at Tegernsee may just be the launch pad for the 13-year-old, who is dreaming of becoming a world champion and breaking Gary Kasparov’s record ( at 22 years old)

The final three rounds of the Bavarian Open will be played on Friday. If Royal can hit the target of 6.5/9 or more, it might be enough for his first grandmaster result.

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If he achieves it, it would be a rare feat for a 13-year-old. The list of 40 players who have become grandmasters before their 15th birthday includes many current stars. The youngest English grandmaster until now is David Howell, who qualified in January 2007 aged 16 years one month.

Shreyas Royal Factbox
Pet Name: Shrez
Date of Birth: 9th January
Lives in: London
Started chess at the age of: 6 years
Club: SV Erkenschwick(Germany),4NCL WoodGreen (UK), West London(UK)
Favourite pastime (other than chess): Watching TV, cricket, listening music, warhammer game