Who Is Abhimanyu Mishra? 16-Year-Old Chess Prodigy Topples World Champion D Gukesh In FIDE Grand Swiss

American chess prodigy of Indian origin, Abhimanyu Mishra, grabbed the headlines when he stunned the reigning World Champion, D Gukesh, in the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Monday, September 8. Mishra clinched victory over Gukesh in Round 5 of the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in Samarkand, marking a historic win against the reigning World Champion.

Abhimanyu Mishra capitalized on D Gukesh's 12th-move slip, which weakened the reigning World Champion's position early and steadily converted it into victory in Round 5 of the ongoing chess tournament in Samarkand.

All eyes on Abhimanyu Mishra! 👀The youngster surprisingly took down the World Champion Gukesh D in Round 5 of the #FIDEGrandSwiss twitter/CoSzKG2JoA

- International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 8, 2025

The Italian opening was when Abhimanyu caught Gukesh off guard, and a piece was sacrificed by the American from his knight on move 12, launching a sharp attack that forced the Indian chess star into a defensive position he could not recover from. After 61 moves, Abhimanyu Mishra defeated D Gukesh.

With this victory, the 16-year-old Abhimanyu Mishra became the youngest chess player to defeat the World Champion, breaking a 33-year-old record by Grandmaster Gata Kamsky of the USA when he was 17 years old and defeated then World Champion, Garry Kasparov

Who is Abhimanyu Mishra?

The 16-year-old Abhimanyu Mishra stunned the chess world by defeating reigning world champion D Gukesh, who was the favourite to win the match. Abhimanyu Mishra is an Indian-American chess player, residing in New Jersey with his parents. He was just 2 years old when his parents first taught him the game of chess.

Mishra first caught the attention when he became the youngest player to earn the Grandmaster tag, qualifying for the title at the age of 12, 4 months, and 25 days in June 2021. He achieved it after achieving an Elo Rating of 2500.

Previously, the record was held by Sergey Karjakin of Russia, who achieved the title at the age of 12 years and 7 months in 2002. Abhimanyu also held the record for the youngest to earn the International Master title at the age of 10 years, 9 months, and 20 days in 2019.

16yo Abhimanyu Mishra defeats Gukesh! 😮- Abhimanyu 🇺🇸 became the youngest player ever to beat the reigning World Champion! He is also the World Youngest GM ever! 🔥 twitter/WbbCRkKCXo

- The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) September 8, 2025

Abhimanyu Mishra made his Chess World Cup debut in 2021, but lost to Baadur Jobava of Georgia in the opening round of the tournament. In 2023, Abhimanyu Mishra won the U.S. Junior Championship, scoring 6 out of 9 points, which qualified him for the U.S. Championship. There, he tied for second place with 6.5 out of 11 points. He also performed well in the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss, finishing with 5.5 out of 11 points.

Abhimanyu's latest achievement, defeating reigning world champion D Gukesh in the ongoing FIDE Grand Swiss, has cemented his status as one of the brightest young talents in international chess.

Abhimanyu Mishra reflects on his victory against D Gukesh

Speaking to FIDE after a stunning victory against D Gukesh, Abhimayu Mishra was not pleased with his performance compared to previous games, as it was not a 'clean' game, but he expressed his confidence in winning the tournament.

“Even though I won, it doesn't feel as pleasing as my previous games in the tournament. It wasn't a very clean game," Mishra told FIDE.

“But the tournament is going better than I could have possibly imagined. If I keep up this form, I have a very real chance of winning the tournament. Yesterday, too, I made some errors against Pragg. But I never felt like I was inferior to these players (Gukesh and Pragg). I think I am at par with them," he added.

Abhimanyu Mishra will return to action will return to action in Round 6 of the ongoing edition of the Grand Swiss, scheduled for Tuesday, September 9, 2025. He currently has 3.5 points out of 5 and is among the leading contenders in the tournament.

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