Assaubayeva Confirmed As 43rd Female GM, Shogdzhiev World's Youngest IM

21-year-old Bibisara Assaubayeva has officially become the 43rd woman to achieve the grandmaster title, joining a prestigious list of players to achieve the feat. IM Roman Shogdzhiev has also been confirmed as the world's youngest international master at 10.

Assaubayeva secured her third and final GM norm at the Sharjah Masters in May, where the Kazakh player also crossed the required 2500 rating barrier. However, the title was only confirmed on July 18, during the last FIDE Council meeting.

She now joins a prestigious list of female grandmasters, one that includes her compatriot GM Zhansaya Abdumalik, who became the 39th female grandmaster in 2021. Assaubayeva is the first woman to achieve the title since GM Vaishali Rameshbabu was confirmed as the 42nd last year.

Assaubayeva is a two-time Women's World Blitz Champion, winning consecutive titles in 2021 and 2022. She learned the rules at the age of four from her father. It took no longer than a few years until she started excelling, winning a number of World Youth Championship titles. She was only seven when she achieved the WFM title in 2011. Her WGM title came in 2019, and the following year she completed the IM title as well. She is currently ranked tenth among the world's highest-rated women with a 2509 rating.

Just days ago, Assaubayeva competed in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Las Vegas, where she was granted a surprise wildcard. While she struggled against the world elite, she gained valuable top-level experience.

The full list of approved grandmasters include eight other players, such as Kazakshtan's GM Edgar Mamedov, who is just 14 years old, and 15-year-old GM Artem Uskov. Turkey's 14-year-old chess sensation GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus currently remains the world's youngest grandmaster.

New Grandmasters Approved

10-year-old Shogdzhiev has also been confirmed as the youngest international master in history, after achieving his third and final norm in Serbia in May at 10 years, three months, and 21 days.

The Russian prodigy has shown exceptional results ever since he made shockwaves around the chess world as an eight-year-old by defeating five grandmasters at the 2023 World Rapid & Blitz Championship.

Shogdzhiev is currently chasing his first GM norm at the Oskemen Open in Kazakhstan, and started well by beating GM Levan Pantsulaia in the first round. He followed up with draws against GMs Alisher Suleymenov and Lalith Babu M R, which means he is well on track to make headlines again.

Also among the list of players to have titles approved is 14-year-old IM Tani Adewumi, whose remarkable story has continued to inspire. The Nigerian-American made international headlines after rising from homelessness in New York to national chess champion, raising more than $250,000 to support his journey. 

Tani crossed the 2400 in April, and has now officially earned the IM title. Speaking to Chess.com recently, he said: "The IM title means a lot as it is my next step in my GM journey". Over the weekend, playing his first event outside the United States, he scored a stunning 11/13 to win the Biel Blitz Tournament ahead of GM Benjamin Bok and other strong grandmasters. 

The complete list of approved titles is yet to be published, but FIDE has a list of title applications on their website.