History beckons as chess prodigy enjoys success across the board

A 12-year-old chess player from Woking has made history by becoming the youngest winner of the Under 18 Delancey UK Chess Challenge Terafinal, defeating opponents several years older than himself at Blenheim Palace.

Dildarav Lishoy Gengis Paratazham, who was eligible to compete in the Under 12 section, deliberately entered the oldest age category in search of a greater challenge. He secured the championship on 18 October after defeating tournament leader Jan Murawski in a tense final-round encounter.

At just 12 years and one month, Dildarav is the youngest winner of the competition's oldest age section since the UK Chess Challenge began in 1996. The previous record was held by Thomas Rendle, who won the Terafinal in 1999 aged 12 years and 11 months. Rendle subsequently became an International Master.

The Terafinal is the culmination of the Delancey UK Chess Challenge, the UK's largest chess competition for children, attracting some 20,000 participants each year.

After a series of regional qualifying tournaments, just 60 players reach the national final, where they compete in five age groups. Each section brings together 12 of the country's strongest young players for an 11-round all-play-all tournament over two days.

Dildarav is already something of a Terafinal veteran. He won the Under 8 championship in 2023 with ten and a half points from 11 games, then returned in 2025 to win the Under 10 title with a perfect 11 out of 11.

This year, having already collected two national titles in his own age groups, he wanted a different challenge.

"I felt I wanted to test myself this year against older children and young adults," he explained. "My dad also thought this was a good plan, having won U8 and U10 in the previous years."

Dildarav was certainly not short of confidence. He arrived at Blenheim believing he could win all 11 games, although things didn't go quite to plan.

"I felt I could win the whole tournament with 11 out of 11 before the tournament started," he said. "However, the first day was tough for me, especially with two drawn games and a loss."

By the end of Saturday, he had begun to think that a place on the podium might be the best he could manage. A conversation with his father helped him put the setbacks behind him.

"My dad always says I should aim for the stars, then I would land on the planets or maybe on the moon."

The following day brought more frustration when Dildarav allowed a promising position to slip away against Alexandr Pereslavtsev, who fought back to secure a draw a game selected for the Michael Basman Best Game Prize.

But Dildarav remained in contention. Going into the final round, Jan Murawski held a one-point lead over Dildarav and Pereslavtsev, with Jan and Dildarav due to meet in the decisive game.

The game remained balanced for a long time before a mistake by Jan in time trouble allowed Dildarav to win a pawn. He went on to convert the advantage, leaving all three players tied on eight points. Dildarav took the title on tie-break, completing his third Terafinal victory in four years.

His interest in chess began at the age of four, when his mother taught him the moves.

"I was fascinated by the little army I could play with, and I tried them on my dad," he recalled.

His father remembers being surprised by how quickly his son understood the rules. Even in their earliest games, Dildarav never attempted an illegal move.

"I tested him again a few times, and he never made an illegal move," he said. "I thought this understanding of the rules of chess was too perfect to ignore."

Chess has since become a major part of Dildarav's life. He plays and solves puzzles every day and already competes against adults in division one of the Four Nations Chess League, representing Schach Attack. He hopes to gain further experience in strong European chess leagues.

"I enjoy chess because there are many possibilities for an ending," he said. "Chess can be unpredictable and challenging."

Away from chess, Dildarav enjoys cricket, table tennis and watching YouTube videos. One of his ambitions is to play chess against YouTube star MrBeast.

Asked whether he dreams of becoming a grandmaster, he said: "I feel titles and successes are all a consequence of the quality I can bring to the board."

Sarah Longson, chief executive of the Delancey UK Chess Challenge, said: "To win the Under 18 Terafinal at just 12 years old is an exceptional achievement, particularly when you consider the strength of the players he was facing.

“Dildarav has been one of our outstanding young competitors for several years, but this performance will be remembered for a long time.

"What makes the Terafinal so special is how difficult it is to get there. Every one of the 60 finalists has earned their place against strong opposition, and the standard of chess this year was extremely high.

“We're delighted for Dildarav and look forward to seeing what he achieves next."

The 2026 Terafinal also marked the end of Delancey's longstanding sponsorship of the UK Chess Challenge.