Daniel Dardha
 Dardha in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 October 2005 Mortsel, Belgium |
| Chess career | |
| Country | Belgium |
| Title | Grandmaster (2021) |
| FIDE rating | 2608 (September 2026) |
| Peak rating | 2665 (March 2025) |
| Peak ranking | No. 58 (March 2025) |
Daniel Dardha (born 1 October 2005) is a Belgian chess grandmaster. He won the Belgian Chess Championship in 2019 at age 13, becoming the youngest player to do so.[1]
Chess career
[edit]In 2017, aged 12, he won the U-14 Blitz Chess Championship.[2] He earned his International Master title in 2019, shortly after winning the Belgian Chess Championship.[1] He earned his Grandmaster title in 2021 after winning the Belgian Chess Championship for the second time, becoming Belgium's youngest ever Grandmaster at age 15.[3]
He won the Belgian Chess Championship for the third time in 2022.[4]
He did not defend his title in 2023, playing instead in the Chess World Cup 2023. He defeated Kevin Goh Wei Ming in the first round, but was defeated by Vincent Keymer in the second round.
In May 2024, he won the Sardinia World Chess Festival Open A on tiebreaks, tying with three other players Kirill Shevchenko, Volodar Murzin and Jorden van Foreest with 7/9.[5]
He won the Belgian Chess Championship for the fourth time in 2024.[6][7]
In November 2024, he competed in the European Individual Chess Championship and finished at second place, scoring 8½/11 (+6–0=5) and qualifying for the Chess World Cup 2025.[8]
In November 2025, at the Chess World Cup 2025 he advanced to the third round after eliminating International Master Bành Gia Huy in the first round and Grigoriy Oparin in the second round, but was defeated by Pentala Harikrishna in the third round.
He won the Belgian Chess Championship for the fifth time in 2026.[9]
Personal life
[edit]Dardha was born on 1 October 2005 in Mortsel, Belgium.[10] His father, Arben Dardha, who became U-20 Albanian Champion at age 16, is a FIDE Master and, as of 2019, Daniel's coach. (Daniel is also intermittently coached by Ivan Sokolov.) Dardha's grandfather, Bardhyl Dardha, coached the Tomori chess club in Berat, Albania, as well as his son. At age 82, he was still active in online chess.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Daniel Dardha, a Belgian champion at 13!". Chess News. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ↑ "Daniel Dardha Wereldkampioen Snelschaken bij -14 jarige - Schaakkring Deurne-Zuid". www.schaakkringdeurne-zuid.net. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ↑ Times, The Brussels. "15-year-old is youngest Belgian Grandmaster in chess world". www.brusselstimes.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ↑ Sergio (20 August 2022). "Daniel Dardha wins the Belgian Chess Championship, crosses 2600 ELO – Chessdom". www.chessdom.com. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ↑ Alberto Colodro, Carlos (5 May 2024). "Daniel Dardha wins Sardinia Open". Chess News. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
- ↑ Echecs, Europe (8 September 2023). "Championnat de Belgique 2023 - Premier titre de Champion de Belgique pour Lennert Lenaerts !". www.europe-echecs.com (in French). Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ↑ Echecs, Europe (15 July 2024). "Championnat de Belgique 2024 - 4e titre de champion de Belgique pour Daniel Dardha !". www.europe-echecs.com (in French). Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ↑ ChessBase (20 November 2024). "Aleksandar Indjic wins 2024 European Championship". Chess News. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
- ↑ "Expertenreeks Belgisch Kampioenschap 2026". Chess-results.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2026.
- ↑ "FIDE Title Application (IM)" (PDF).
External links
[edit]- Daniel Dardha rating card at FIDE
- Daniel Dardha player profile and games at Chessgames.com