| Leonardo Costa | |
|---|---|
 Leonardo Costa in 2022 | |
| Country | Germany |
| Born | January 2008 (age 16) Munich, Germany |
| Title | International Master (2024) |
| FIDE rating | 2501 (November 2024) |
| Peak rating | 2501 (November 2024) |
Leonardo Costa (born January 2008) is a German chess International Master (IM, 2024) who won German Chess Championship (2022). He is the youngest German chess champion in all tournament history.
Leonardo Costa started playing chess at the age of four and a half. [1] He first played against his father Vincenzo, who was soon no longer a match for him. [2] At the age of six he played for the club SK Munich Southeast [3] and also won a youth chess cup at this age against 34 children aged up to under 12 years. [3] In June 2017 he became German Youth Chess Champion in age group U10, [4] in June 2019 German Youth Chess Vice Champion in age group U12 [5] and in August 2021 German Youth Chess Champion in age group U14. [6] In December 2021, the commission for competitive sports of the German Chess Federation decided on special funding for him, with which he should make the leap into the German national chess team and maybe even the top of the world in the long term. [7]
After exceeding the Elo mark of 2300 in September 2021, he received his first FIDE title with the FIDE Master. [8] His highest Elo rating was 2393 in December 2021.
At the 93rd German Chess Championship in Magdeburg 2022, Costa won, although only placed 24th, in a field with several International Master and Grandmasters and won the title of German master. [9] This means that he is eligible to participate in the (much higher-ranking) German Masters in 2023.
At the World Youth Chess Championship in agr group 14 in 2022 in Mamaia, he finished 18th after retiring in the last round in a single draw, completely winning; otherwise he would have shared third place. [10]
Initially, Nadya Yusupov was his coach; [11] since 2018 this is mainly Michael Prusikin. [3]
Costa lives with his parents and a sister in Neubiberg near Munich. According to his own statements, he is a good, but not an outstanding student. [3]
The European Youth Chess Championship is organized by the European Chess Union (ECU) in groups under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years old. The first tournament was held in 1991, and the under 8 category was introduced in 2007. Until 2002 there was also a tournament for the under 20 group. There are also specific tournaments for girls only, in the same age categories.
Dariusz Świercz is a Polish-American chess player playing for the United States. He was the youngest Polish player of all time to qualify for the title Grandmaster; he was 14 years and seven months when he achieved this title in 2009. In 2018 he switched his national federation to the United States.
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and norms. Once awarded, titles are held for life except in cases of fraud or cheating. Open titles may be earned by all players, while women's titles are restricted to female players. Many strong female players hold both open and women's titles. FIDE also awards titles for arbiters, organizers and trainers. Titles for correspondence chess, chess problem composition and chess problem solving are no longer administered by FIDE.
Elena Tairova was a Belarusian and Russian chess player. She was awarded the FIDE titles of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in 2006 and International Master (IM) in 2007.
Richard Wang is a chess international master from Canada. Wang became the second youngest International Master in Canadian history at the age of 13 at the 2012 Canadian Closed Chess Championships (Zonal) held in Montreal, Canada. Other notable achievements include winning two bronze medals at the World Youth Chess Championship: the first in 2009 in the U12 Boys section and the second in 2012 in the U14 Boys section. He is one of the few Canadians to win more than one medal at the WYCC.
Robert Aghasaryan is an Armenian chess Grandmaster (2014). As of June 2018, he is rated by FIDE as with an Elo rating of 2537, his best until now.
Rasmus Svane is a Danish-German chess grandmaster living in Lübeck, Germany. He has represented Germany at the European Team Chess Championship and Chess Olympiad. He is the No. 5 ranked German player as of September 2023.
Matthias Blübaum is a German chess grandmaster. He won the European Individual Chess Championship in 2022.
Alan Pichot is an Argentine chess player who represents Spain. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2016.
Dennis Wagner is a German chess grandmaster.
Dmitrij Kollars is a German chess grandmaster.
Elizabete Limanovska is a Latvian chess player who holds the title of Woman FIDE Master. She won the Latvian Women Chess Championship in 2018.
Govhar Beydullayeva is an Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster. She is the 2022 World Girls U-20 Champion as well as the World Girl's U18 Champion in 2021.
Aleksandra Lach is a Polish chess player. She earned the FIDE title of Woman International Master (WIM) in 2015.
Anna Warakomska is a Polish chess player who holds the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster.
Filiz Osmanodja is a German chess player who holds the title of Woman Grandmaster.
Luis Engel is a German chess grandmaster.
Hanna Marie Klek is a German chess player who holds the title of Woman Grandmaster. She won German Women's Chess Championship (2013).
Ekaterina Borulya is a German chess Woman Grandmaster of Ukrainian descent who won Open German Women's Chess Championship (1994). As a physiotherapist, she is known by the name Katja Borulya.
Sandra Krege is a German chess player who won Open German Women's Chess Championship (2004) and German Women's Chess Championship (2005).