Ashwath Kaushik (8 years and 6 months old) beat grandmaster Jacek Stopa at a tournament in Switzerland on February 18th. The record for youngest chess player to beat a grandmaster had only been set days before, by Leonid Ivanovic (8 years and 11 months old) on February 12th. 

Recently, a larger group of young chess players have entered the scene and been able to perform well. Ashwath was introduced to chess at four by his family. In a few months he could beat all of his family members and began playing chess online. The rise of online chess correlates with the rise of young players. The ability to train, play, and compete without having to travel far or spend a lot of money has allowed more players, especially younger ones, to be able to enter the world of chess. 

Cites

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/feb/20/eight-year-old-beats-chess-grandmaster-youngest

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/20/sport/ashwath-kaushil-chess-prodigy-grandmaster-spt-intl/index.html