Seventeen-year-old Anton Smirnov is already a grandmaster and will represent Australia in this year’s Chess Olympiad in Georgia.
The chess "prodigy" showed promise in the sport at the age of four - when most are just learning to master fine motor skills. Within months of starting he’d perfected it.
Anton's chess abilities were evident from an early age. Source: SBS News/Supplied
"At age five, I played in the Australian junior chess championship for under 12 and won the under eight category," Anton told SBS News.
It was the first of many milestones for the youngster who lives and breathes chess.
"We knew at a very early age Anton was destined for bigger things," said Shaun Press, a World Chess Federation (FIDE) Master and FIDE International Arbiter.
Anton was just 16-years-old when he became Australia’s seventh and youngest ever Grandmaster, smashing by five years the record held by Australian number one Zhao Zong Yuan.
Aside from world champion, Grandmaster is the highest title attained and once achieved you’re a grandmaster for life.
"Becoming a grandmaster is incredibly difficult.
“It really takes eight to ten years of just solid hard work," Mr Press said.
At age 13, Anton became the Australian junior champion and the world's youngest International Master.
He also represented Australia in two Chess Olympiads, where he was undefeated.
After an impressive performance at the 2017 Chess World Cup, Anton achieved his ultimate goal.
"I attained the Grandmaster title and currently there are only 1500 chess masters in the world so it was a pretty big achievement," he said.
"The game of chess is mentally demanding": Anton Smirnov. Source: SBS News
"I think I spent thousands of hours practising chess.”
Anton will be competing at the Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia in September, where he'll be the top-ranked player representing Australia.
His current challenge is juggling chess with his Year 11 studies but the teen grandmaster seems to have everything in check.
"The game of chess is mentally demanding, so I play a bit of tennis, table tennis and run."
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