The triumph of egregious youth
Topalov and Erdogmus
In previous columns I have animadverted—if that somewhat antique and combative verb may be permitted—upon the exploits of alarmingly youthful players who, with a calm that would be intolerable if it were not so admirable, are already making a definite mark upon the international chess scene. The most recent apparition—one is tempted to say visitation—of this precocious and prodigious talent has been the crushing match victory won by the 14-year-old Turkish Grandmaster, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, against the former FIDÉ champion and experienced Grandmaster, Vesselin Topalov. This feat is rather like a schoolboy casually toppling a cathedral and then apologising for the inconvenience.
I confess that I cannot consider such marvels without recalling my own more modest adventures. In 1964, I won the British under-18 championship while still eligible for the under-16 section. At the time this was regarded as remarkable precocity; twelve years later, at the age of 28, I secured the Grandmaster title. Nowadays, I am compelled to observe—with that mixture of humility and irritation which is the Englishman’s last refuge—that these feats would have indicated I was hopelessly retarded as a chess player. Progress, it seems, has not merely marched on; it has sprinted past and taken a victory lap.
Indeed, even before titles and ratings were formalised, accounts abound of amazingly youthful chess prodigies. José Raul Capablanca allegedly picked up the moves of the game at the age of four, simply by watching his father play. Then there was Paul Morphy, who at twelve defeated the illustrious European grandmaster Johannes Jacob Löwenthal. Perhaps most spectacular of all, Bobby Fischer became US champion at fourteen and the victor of the so-called Game of the Century at thirteen.
It seems to me that there must be some quality which links chess, music, and mathematics. I believe that quality to be an inner harmony, a sort of invisible architecture that binds these pursuits together. The youthful human brain appears uniquely capable of perceiving this harmony. The striking fact is that prodigies in these fields perform at the highest level without what we ordinarily call preparation.
It would be quite unthinkable for a child or young teenager to paint like Leonardo da Vinci or write with the depth and insight of Tolstoy or Shakespeare. In such cases, life experience is essential. Yet in music, mathematics, and chess, prodigies appear to leap the chasm of experience altogether, tapping directly into an underlying harmony.
My favourite line in English literature comes from the opening of Tamburlaine the Great: Part Two, where Marlowe’s Sultan Bajazeth declares: “Egregious viceroys of these Eastern parts.” Today, the word “egregious” is softened, but originally it meant to stand apart from the flock—distinct and exceptional.
That definition fits Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus perfectly. Born in 2011, his rise has been startling. Before twelve, he was the youngest International Master in Turkish history. By thirteen, he had crossed 2600. In 2025, he was the youngest grandmaster in the world and among the most interesting.
He first emerged in 2022 at the Gligoric Memorial. That same year, he won the ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship. By 2023, he was competing at elite levels. In Sitges, he scored 7.5/10. For most, a peak; for him, a checkpoint.
In 2024, he became the fourth-youngest grandmaster in history, breaking Judit Polgar’s record. By October, he had crossed 2600.
In 2025, he tied for second at the Sigeman tournament alongside Nils Grandelius. He later defeated Peter Svidler in classical play, though he lost the blitz. Blitz is a flash; classical is a portrait.
His emergence comes amid trends like Freestyle Chess, championed by Magnus Carlsen. Erdogmus represents something different: a commitment to classical structure and depth.
There is rebellion in his style—quiet, purposeful. Like Morphy, Alekhine, and Tal, he reminds us the game is not solved.
So yes—egregious is the word. Not scandalous, but set apart.
Not noble. Not admirable. Not promising.
But egregious. The youngest player ever to traverse the 2700 ratings barrier.
And gloriously so.
Erdogmus has recently defeated Veselin Topalov, who 20 years ago was one of the strongest players in the world. As we shall see from the following table, the former FIDÉ world champion, now 51 and playing white in the odd numbered games, was able to hold the young Turk in the first game. In the second game, youth eventually prevailed against experience in a highly volatile semi-Slav in which both players alternated promising positions until white blundered close to time control.
By game three, the advantage swung successfully to Erdogmus, who playing with the black pieces, vanquished his opponent in a near-perfectly played, accelerated Dragon. Although Topalov was able to manage a 75-move draw in the fourth game, the contest was already decided and Erdogmus cleaned up in the fifth and final games to register an emphatic 5-1 victory.
Clash of Generations III (Monte Carlo) 01 02 03 04 05 06 TOTAL
Veselin Topalov ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 1
Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 5
Clash of Generations III, Monte Carlo, 2026, game two
- d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. Ne5 Nbd7 11. O-O h5 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. Qc1 Rg8 14. Qe3 h4?! TN
This is Topalov’s innovation, varying from 14… Ng4 [Gnojek-Kantor, Berlin, 2024] and 14… Bb4 [Laurent Paoli-Van Wely, Chartres, 2024], both of which were wins for Black.
- Be5 Qd8 16. h3 Nd7?!
Black would do better to press home his initiative on the kingside. After 16… g4 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. hxg4 e5 19. dxe5 Qxe5 20. Rad1 Bd6 21. Rxd6 Qxd6 22. e5 Qe7 23. Rd1 Rd8, any advantage White may lay claim to is at best a minimal one. After the move played, White enjoys a moderate positional advantage.
- Bh2 Qb6 18. Rfd1?!
- Rad1 was more accurate.
18… e5?!
Black could best exploit White’s last inaccuracy with 18… Nf6! 19. Rab1 Rd8 20. b3 cxb3 21. Rxb3 g4, contesting the pressures in the centre and kingside. The advantage is quite clearly in White’s favour after this mistake.
- Bg4 Rd8 20. Qf3?
Self-pinning the queen to the x-ray attack of Black’s b7-bishop. Far preferable was 20. a4 exd4 21. a5 dxe3 22. axb6 Be7 23. Rxa7 Nc5 24. Bc7 exf2+ 25. Kxf2 Rxd1 26. Nxd1, after which Black is without counterplay and tied in knots dealing with White’s passed b-pawn. The effect of this error is sufficient to allow Black to claim equality.
20… exd4 21. e5 c5 22. Ne4 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Be7 24. a4 b4
- Qe2?!
After an eventful opening, this further inaccuracy enables Black to seize a slight initiative and edge. Almost anything else, for example 25. a5, Re1 or Rac1, maintains equality.
25… d3 26. Qe4 Nf8 27. Qxc4 Rd4 28. Qb5+ Qxb5 29. axb5 c4 30. Rxa7 c3?!
Preferable is 30… Ne6, when after 31. b6 Bc5 32. Ra8+ Rd8 33. Rxd8+ Kxd8 34. Rc1, Black is able to keep his tangible, if slight, momentum.
- b6 c2 32. b7 Rd8 33. e6 Nxe6 34. Ra8 Kd7 35. Rxd3+ Kc6 36. Bf3+ Kc5??
This blunder places Black’s king on the c-file he wishes to promote upon, thus enabling lines where White can pin and win. To keep the equilibrium, Black must find 36… Kb6 37. Rdxd8 Rxd8 38. b8=Q+ Rxb8 39. Rxb8+ Ka6 40. Ra8+ Kb6 41. Ra1 Bf6, with a level position.
- Rdxd8 Nc7??
A terminal error introducing a mate in eight. Black could instead try either, a) 37… c1=Q+ 38. Rd1 Qxd1+ 39. Bxd1 Kb6 40. Rxg8 Kxb7 41. Bf3+ Kb6; or, b) 37… Bxd8 38. Rc8+ Bc7 39. Bxc7 c1=Q+ 40. Kh2 Kd4 41. Bb6+ Nc5 42. Rxg8 Qf4+ 43. Kh1 Qc1+ 44. Bd1 Qxd1+ 45. Kh2. In both cases, White’s advantage remains overwhelming.
- Ra5+ Kc4??
Escalating a mate in four: 39. Be2+ Kb3 40. Rd3+ Kxb2 41. Be5+ Kb1 42. Ra1#
- Be2+ Black resigns 1-0
Clash of Generations III, Monte Carlo, 2026, game three
- e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bc4 d6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Re1 Nf6 6. d3 Nc6 7. Nc3 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 O-O 10. Qd1 e6 11. a3 a6 12. Ba2 b5 13. Bf4 Nh5 14. Be3 Rb8 15. Qc1 Qd7 16. Nd1?!
The first of some minor but incrementally damaging inaccuracies. 16. Ne2 Nf6 17. Qd2 a5 18. c3 is correct.
16… Rfc8 17. Bh6 Nf6 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Qf4 d5 20. e5 Ng8 21. Ne3
An alternative is 21. c4 dxc4 22. dxc4 b4.
21… b4 22. a4 Qd8 23. c3 Qa5 24. Rac1 bxc3 25. bxc3 Rb2 26. Bb1?!
A doomed expedition to salvage the over-valued a2-bishop. However, White is still worse even after his best sacrificial try, with 26. Bxd5!? exd5 27. Nxd5 Rf8 28. Qe4 Nce7 29. Nf6.
26… Rcb8 27. h4 R8b3 28. c4 d4 29. Ng4 Qb4?!
If Black’s copybook is blotted, it might be here. 29… Qd2! is arguably stronger, and if then, for instance 30. Qe4, then 30… Nce7 31. Rcd1 Qb4 32. Nf6 Rxb1 33. Nd7 Rxd1 34. Rxd1 Qb7 grants Black the superior endgame, a knight ahead for wholly insufficient recompense.
- Bc2 Rc3 32. Qe2??
The losing move: neglecting that on e2, the queen is overloaded simultaneously protecting c2 and e1. Still much worse, White nevertheless survives after any of 32. h5, Nf6 and g3.
32… Rcxc2 33. Qe4?
- Rxc2 Rxc2 34. Qe4 is a great improvement in a position no longer sensitive to such slight nuances.
33… Rc3 White resigns 0-1
A seamless 2700+ demolition with Black, which effectively ends the contest.
Ray’s 206th book, “ Chess in the Year of the King ”, written in collaboration with Adam Black, and his 207th, “ Napoleon and Goethe: The Touchstone of Genius ” (which discusses their relationship with chess) can be ordered from both Amazon and Blackwell’s. His 208th, the world record for chess books, written jointly with the late chess playing artist, Barry Martin, Chess through the Looking Glass , is now also available from Amazon.
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