Culture | The sports page

The sport in which nine-year-old prodigies are world-beaters

Stars of many sports are getting older. Not so chess

Two players during the Caplin Hastings International Chess Congress at Horntye Park, Hastings, East Sussex, UK.
Photograph: Alamy

THE GRANDMASTER sits at the pinnacle of chess. The title evokes excellence and experience, a garland for someone who has mastered the game and all its many intricacies. The term was first used in 1838 to describe a British player, William Lewis, after many years of success. He was 51. Today top talents are recognised at far younger ages.

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