Garry Kasparov was 17, Bobby Fischer 15 and Magnus Carlsen 13 when they became grandmasters, the most prestigious title in the sport of chess.
Now three of the best players in history are about to be boarded by Roman Shogdzhiev.
If the youngster, who turns 12 in February, makes another good competition and reaches the final so-called grandmaster standard, he will receive the title. He has six months to become the youngest player to accomplish that feat.
Roman Shogzhiyev lives in Moscow with his parents. He is surrounded by a team of seven top Russian players who take turns training with him, all for the great chess nation to produce a new world champion.
It's clear that his life is no ordinary 11-year-old - during the year he has taken big wins in Hong Kong, Mongolia and Antalya and played league games for Partizan Belgrade in Serbia.
Nils Grandelius, 33, is Sweden's best player and a grandmaster himself. He has not faced Roman Shogdzhiyev, but is impressed by his progress.
- It is an extremely great talent and there is no upper limit to how good he can be. Magnus Carlsen (five-time Norwegian world champion) was talented at that age, but it was nothing special. He broke through a little later.
- I probably have to meet him as soon as possible to have a chance. In a couple of years it will be very difficult, says the professional player Grandelius, who was ranked around 50 in the world this spring.
How can an 11-year-old be so good at chess?
- The big difference compared to before is that there is information and sparring constantly online. In the past, you couldn't develop if you didn't have a good player in physical proximity. Now you can meet a grandmaster around the clock. There are a lot of really young players coming through now.
Is it really healthy for a child to invest so much in chess?
- It's probably not something I would recommend as a parent. I had not encouraged my child to try to become a grandmaster.
- I don't know how much time he spends, but I guess it won't be that much normal schooling. I myself played about 20 hours a week as a 12-13-year-old, says Nils Grandelius.
Roman Shogdzhiyev's mother Saglara has told in an interview, according to chess.com, that there will be no more than one or two hours of schooling per day. Roman himself says in the same interview that he gets bored by anything other than chess.
He also has a prestige battle against another child prodigy, the 13-year-old Argentine Faustino Oro, who is called the "Chess Messi".
In Sweden, 25 grandmasters have emerged over the years, a title you keep for life.
- For me it felt important, it is the highest title you can get. For the young players, it's probably just a stop on the way to the world championship title, says Nils Grandelius.
- But you have to remember that it is one thing to be promising. It is not a given that you will become a great player just because you are a super promise.
Russia is a historic chess power. But the presence or absence of Russian players in the chess world has been controversial since the war of aggression against Ukraine began.
Until July this year, the international chess federation FIDE was ruled by the Russian Arkady Dvorkovich. He chose to resign when he ended up on the EU's sanctions list this summer.
Ever since the war started, Russians and Belarusians have been allowed to compete individually under neutral flags.
Erik Malmstig is former vice chairman of the Swedish Chess Federation and responsible publisher of Tidskrift för schack:
- The Swedish confederation has 100 percent supported Ukraine in the war and the position is that no Russians over the age of 18 should be allowed to compete in Sweden, and that Swedes should not compete in Russia, he says.
Malmstig emphasizes that Russia is a great power in chess. Most world champions came for a long time from the old Soviet Union.
- There are still very many Russian coaches around the world. The Russian school is style-forming from the 1950s onwards with a more scientific and systematic way of playing. There was a whole model of training at a young age.
It is clear that it is no disadvantage for Putin to bring out a top chess player.
He sees risks for a child who spends all his time on chess to burn out.
- It's awesome to see how good Roman is. What is sad is that you think, is it a political project? It is clear that it is no disadvantage for Putin to bring out a top chess player.
At the same time, a number of Russian stars, such as world champion Aleksandra Kostenjuk, have criticized the invasion of Ukraine and chosen to leave the country. They now represent different countries in Europe. Two Russians have been welcomed to the Swedish national team.
Former world champion Garry Kasparov recently claimed in a DN interview that there is no other alternative than Ukrainian victory in the war. He is accused of terrorism and extremism in Russia and as a leader in the opposition he was forced to flee the country in 2013.
Kasparov's chess talents were discovered when he was five years old. Now it remains to be seen how far Roman Shogdzhiyev will reach.
