Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş

Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş (born 3 June 2011) is a Turkish chess prodigy and grandmaster. He was awarded the International Master title prior to turning 12, becoming the youngest individual from Turkey to achieve this title. In 2024, he became the fourth-youngest grandmaster in history.

Early life
Erdoğmuş was born in Bursa, Turkey. Introduced to chess by his kindergarten teacher, he started playing the game at the age of 6.

Chess career
In 2018, Erdoğmuş won the age 8 category at the 6th Cesme International Open Chess Tournament 2018, and in the 2019 Turkey Youth Chess Championship for the same age group. He won the U-8 European Chess Championship in 2019, winning 8 out of 8 games, guaranteeing the championship as he entered the last round.

He attained the IM title during the 3rd FIDE Council in 2022, following a commendable performance at the Svetozar Gligoric Memorial Chess Tournament in Serbia. Also in 2022, Erdoğmuş won the ChessKid Youth Speed Chess Championship online tournament.

Erdoğmuş participated in advanced training and competitions in 2023, including the Chessable FIDE Camp in Spain and the 2023 European Individual Chess Championship in Serbia.

In April 2024, at the Grenke Chess Open and Classic, he became the fourth-youngest Grandmaster in the world.

Despite an offer from the German Chess Federation to represent Germany, including citizenship and scholarship incentives, Erdoğmuş continues to compete for Turkey.

Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş checkmated Magnus Carlsen, known as the best chess player in history, in 41.2 seconds.