Murugan Thiruchelvam (born 11 December 1988), of Sri Lankan descent,^[1] is an English chess player. He was England's youngest player ever to gain an international chess rating (2020 at the age of nine).

Having just passed his tenth birthday, he played against the then world champion Garry Kasparov in a simultaneous exhibition. Impressed by the strategic understanding of the youngster, Kasparov singled out the game as the best of that day.^[2]

Murugan continued to improve rapidly, reaching 2269 Elo on FIDE's published rating list before age twelve. Thereafter, he played only infrequently and by 2003 was no longer participating in FIDE rated events.

Bibliography

• "Boy, 10 qualifies for British chess final: Murugan makes history as youngest ever player". Birmingham Evening Mail. 12 January 1999. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2013. (subscription required)
• Speelman, Jon (31 March 1999). "Independent Pursuits: Chess". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013. (subscription required)
• "Schoolboy moves to another record in chess world". The Birmingham Post. 29 March 1999. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2013. (subscription required)
• "The young master". Birmingham Evening Mail. 29 March 1999. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2013. (subscription required)

• Murugan Thiruchelvam player profile and games at Chessgames.com
• Murugan Thiruchelvam rating card at FIDE