This is a summary of the Chess.com news article “Luca Protopopescu Becomes Youngest Ever to Break 2200 Rating Barrier At 9” by Tarjei J. Svensen (April 10, 2025).
A new age record
CM Luca Protopopescu from Marseille crossed the 2200 FIDE classical mark on the April 2025 list, only days after his ninth birthday, becoming the youngest player ever to do so. He reached it at nine years and five days, 98 days earlier than England's Ethan Pang and 105 days earlier than Argentina's Faustino Oro. It was the third time the record had fallen in less than a year. According to FIDE he is the top-rated of 2,443 rated players under ten, 328th among active players in France and 7,185th worldwide.
Two strong tournaments
Luca gained 321 rating points in two months, going from 1895 to 2216. In March he won the B group of the Cannes International with 7.5/9 and a 2276 performance, although he was seeded only 54th among 181 players. Before that he won a tournament in Hyères with 5.5/6 and a 2336 performance, including a win over his former coach, IM Guillaume Philippe (2332), and another over FM Llewellyn Vidal (2188). No games from either event had been published at the time.
Background and team
According to his mother Andreea, Luca learned the rules during the pandemic at age four and quickly beat her. In 2023 he became U8 champion in France and won silver at the European Youth Championship U8 with 7.5/9, missing gold only on tiebreak. Since September he has been coached by GM Mert Erdogdu, who previously worked with Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş, and this year he secured sponsorship from Monaco-based Turkish investor Evren Ucok, who also backs Erdoğmuş and GM Ediz Gurel. Erdogdu praised his concentration and constant calculation and said his 2500 blitz rating on Chess.com supports the 2200 level.
What's next
Luca leads the under-10 rating list by 172 points over Timofei Demchenko (2044) and by 195 over Marc Barcelo Melnyk (2021). The following week he was to play the World Youth Rapid & Blitz Championships in Rhodes as one of the favorites. “I prefer playing more than winning,” he told local newspaper La Provence.
The source article contains no game scores, so no PGN is included.
Source: Tarjei J. Svensen, Chess.com. Photos: William Azari and Marseille Chess Club, French Chess Federation.
