Luca Protopopescu Becomes Youngest Ever to Break 2200 Rating
Just days after his ninth birthday, Luca Protopopescu from France has made chess history. He became the Youngest Ever to Break 2200 FIDE classical rating.
This young star from Marseille achieved this incredible milestone by beating his former coach!
A Record-Breaking Feat
Only nine months ago, England’s FM Ethan Pang broke the record held by Argentina’s IM Faustino Oro. Now, Luca has smashed that record again!
Luca youngest ever to break 2200 rating at 9 years and 5 days old. That’s:
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98 days younger than Ethan Pang
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105 days younger than Faustino Oro
He now tops the list of the youngest players to ever hit the 2200 mark.
What Makes This So Impressive?
A rating of 2200 is considered master level. For a nine-year-old, it’s nearly unheard of.
Let’s look at Luca’s ranking:
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#1 in the world for players under age 10
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#328 in France out of over 15,000 active players
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#7,185 in the world out of nearly 200,000 rated players
All this at just 9 years old!
How Did He Do It?
Luca gained a huge 321 rating points in just two months. He went from 1895 to 2216.
This came from two amazing performances:
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Cannes International B Group
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Score: 7.5/9
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Performance Rating: 2276
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Seeded 54th out of 181 players
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Hyeres Tournament
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Score: 5.5/6
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Performance Rating: 2336
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Beat his former coach, IM Guillaume Philippe (2332)
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Also beat FM Llewellyn Vidal (2188)
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A Passion That Started During the Pandemic
Luca’s love for chess began during the pandemic at just 4 years old.
His mom shared that he learned by watching his dad play—and quickly got better than both parents!
They soon found a club to test his skills, and his journey took off from there.
The Rise of Pandemic Prodigies
Luca is part of a generation of kids who learned chess during lockdowns and rose to fame.
Others include:
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WFM Bodhana Sivanandan (England)
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CM Ashwath Kaushik (Singapore)
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FM Roman Shogdzhiev (Russia)
All learned during the pandemic and achieved incredible results.
Training and Support
Luca is now coached by GM Mert Erdogdu, who also trained GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, the youngest player ever to reach a 2600 rating.
He is also sponsored by Evren Ucok, a Turkish investor who supports other young chess stars.
GM Erdogdu says Luca is focused, calculating, and has the mindset of a champion.
He adds, “Luca plays at 2200 strength—no doubt. His blitz rating on Chess.com is 2500, and that’s no joke!”
What’s Next for Luca?
Luca is far ahead of other U10 players worldwide. The closest ones are:
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Timofei Demchenko (2044)
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Marc Barcelo Melnyk (2021)
He is 172+ points ahead of them.
Next up, Luca will compete at the World Youth Rapid & Blitz Championships in Rhodes, Greece.
But for Luca, it’s not just about winning.
In his own words: “I prefer playing more than winning”.
Photos: William Azari/Marseille Chess Club, Chess.com
Source: Chess.com NEWS
