Magnus Carlsen became world champion at just 22 years old

A 13-year-old Magnus Carlsen challenged Garry Kasparov in 2004

In 2004, prodigy Magnus Carlsen faced reigning world number one Garry Kasparov in a rapid game at age 13. Carlsen held a strong position and nearly defeated Kasparov, signaling the rise of a future world champion.

The first official World Chess Championship was held in 1886

The inaugural world championship took place across New York, St. Louis and New Orleans in 1886, where Wilhelm Steinitz defeated Johannes Zukertort. Steinitz became the first recognized world champion, establishing the modern era of organized competitive chess.

The Hans Niemann scandal rocked chess in 2023

In 2022, GM Hans Niemann was accused by Magnus Carlsen of cheating—a controversy that led to an internal Chess.com report alleging Niemann “likely cheated” more than 100 times in online games.

Bobby Fischer’s 1972 victory ended Soviet dominance of chess

In Reykjavik, American Bobby Fischer defeated Soviet champion Boris Spassky to claim the world title. The Cold War showdown drew global attention, breaking the USSR’s 24-year grip on the championship.

Hikaru Nakamura became a chess star both on the board and online

A five-time US champion, Hikaru Nakamura helped chess expand its popularity through streaming. His Twitch and YouTube audiences number in the millions, drawing younger fans and fueling the game’s surge in popularity worldwide.

There are about 1,300 active grandmasters worldwide today

The title of grandmaster, established by FIDE in 1950, is the highest honor in chess. As of 2025, roughly 2,000 players have achieved the permanent title—an elite group representing less than one percent of the world’s competitive chess players. Around 1,300 are active today.

GothamChess built the largest online chess audience in the world

International Master Levy Rozman, known as GothamChess, has more than 6 million YouTube subscribers and billions of views. His mix of tutorials, commentary, and humor has introduced millions of new fans to the game in the digital era. In this video, he discusses his decision to challenge Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.

José Raúl Capablanca lost only 34 games in his entire career

World champion from 1921 to 1927, Capablanca was famed for his near-invincible style and masterful endgames. His extraordinary record of just 34 lifetime losses across thousands of games earned him the nickname “The Human Chess Machine.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1964

At the age of 35, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent leadership in the Civil Rights movement, making him the youngest recipient at the time.

Ryan Sheckler won X Games gold at only 13 years old

In 2003, Ryan Sheckler won the skateboard park event at the X Games, becoming the youngest gold medalist in the competition’s history at just 13 years old.

Little League sensation Danny Almonte was two years older than his competitors

The New York pitcher was a hotshot pitcher in the 2001 Little League World Series, catapulting his Bronx team to a third-place finish thanks to a no-hitter and a perfect game. Sports Illustrated eventually reported that Almonte was 14, not 12, and that his coach and father had knowingly misled Little League. They were both banned, though Almonte himself was cleared of all wrongdoing.

A 14-year-old "human calculator" shatters six mathematical world records in one day

A teenage prodigy from Maharashtra, India named Aaryan Shukla set the record for the fastest time to mentally add 50 five-digit numbers. He did so in just 25.19 seconds–roughly equivalent to one addition every 0.5 seconds. The math whiz said he practices calculations for around five to six hours a day.

Every world champion in F1 history

Over the last decade, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have dominated the winners podium, and their Red Bull Racing and Mercedes teams have taken every Constructors' Championship since 2010. But what team had the most championships in the 1950s? Who has the most Drivers' Championships in Formula 1's history? This article shows every Drivers' and Constructors' Champion since the start of Formula 1 in the 1950s.

The tragic story of tennis upstart Monica Seles

At just 17, Monica Seles reached the top of the WTA, becoming the youngest player to do so at the time. She was expected to have a long career, but shortly after she turned 19, a deranged fan stabbed her in the back in the middle of a match. This Cult Tennis video explores the motivation of the fan who stabbed her, how he got away with it, and the impact on the rankings.

The Elo rating system allows you to compare teams across history

The Elo rating system—named after inventor Arpad Elo—allows you to compare any team from any season dating back to the 1870s on an absolute scale and finally make an objective argument about the greatest lineup of all time.

Warren Buffett began investing at 11 years old

He then bought his first property at 14 years old. From studying under the “father of value investing” to revitalizing a textile company into the largest holding company in the world, Buffett’s career is one of great financial success.

The 2016 Men's National Championship game is regarded as one of the best basketball games of all time

Villanova's Kris Jenkins hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat North Carolina 77-74, capping a finish that included Carolina's Marcus Paige tying the game with 4.7 seconds left, making it widely regarded as one of the greatest championship games ever played.

Some chefs relinquish their Michelin stars

Five years after Marco Pierre White became the youngest chef to ever achieve a three-star rating, he also became the first chef to “return” his stars and retire. Since then, multiple chefs have followed in his footsteps and requested to be removed from the judging process.

JRR Tolkien redefined fantasy for a new generation

Tolkien’s debut novel, 1937’s “The Hobbit,” was aimed at young adults, yet it felt far more serious than the whimsical tales of Lewis Carroll or L. Frank Baum. "What Tolkien does is take the 'otherworld' fantasy developed in the 19th century and makes it child-sized, melding it with folklore and Norse myth," notes Farah Mendlesohn, the author of “Rhetorics of Fantasy.”

The tournament in 2026 will have 48 teams

After 24 years of having a 32-team tournament, the FIFA World Cup will get an upgrade in 2026, expanding the field to make it the largest World Cup ever.

Watch a USA Memory Champion answer questions about memory

Six-time USA Memory Champion, Nelson Dellis, answers popular questions about memory, from how sleep, stress, emotion, and attention influence memory to ways techniques like the memory palace, mnemonics, and the PAO system can dramatically improve recall.

The 16th-century astrologer Nostradamus' predictions for 2024

Nostradamus has been credited with predicting several major historical events over the years, but what does he think is in store for 2024? Read up on what his mysterious 1555 book, The Propheties, hints at for the upcoming year.

Why do humans have such long childhoods?

Humans have over twice as long childhoods than other animals with similar lifespans like whales and elephants. A human child can grow for nearly 20 years before they become a reproducing adult. Researchers believe there's a connection between long childhoods and human's unusually large brain size, though the science is not totally clear. Dive into what scientists know here.

See the winning photos from a major European nature photography contest

Selected from nearly 9,000 submissions by 546 photographers across 15 countries, the honored images range from clashing Alpine ibexes to a wolf feeding on flower nectar, captured by the grand prize winner, 20-year-old Luca Lorenz.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Discoveries in electromagnetism became the catalyst for overturning Isaac Newton

To maintain the consistency of experimental results involving electricity, magnetism, and light, time and space had to cease being absolute and could change in value to keep the speed of light constant. This cosmic speed limit forced Einstein to revise the existing model of gravity.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

The tragic Pulitzer Prize-winning image 'The Vulture and the Little Girl' (1993) generated controversy, raised concerns about ethics in photography, and eventually led to the photographer's death.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.