Shay talent Leonardo Costa: The next German grand master approaches!

Shay talent Leonardo Costa: The next German grand master approaches!

München, Deutschland - On May 23, 2025, the talent of 17-year-old chess player Leonardo Costa from Munich attracts great attention in the chess world. He leads as the strongest German teenager in the international ranking and is one of the world's best juniors worldwide. His career quickly picks up speed: at the age of 14, he surprisingly became German champion during the German chess championship in 2022 in Magdeburg. Costa was just able to reach two standards for the major championship title, which at an upcoming fide meeting on 28th-31. May 2025 could be awarded in Katowitz.

Costa, which was born in January 2008, has an impressive chess history. He took his first steps in the chess at the age of four and a half by playing against his father before entering the SK München Südost association. Since then he has achieved numerous titles, including the German Master U10 2017 and the German U14 2021 championship. His ambition also shows in his current ELO number of 2531, which he reached in May 2025. This number is synonymous with its best rating.

success and challenges

One of the recent successes of Costa is the seventh place at the German Championship 2023 in Munich, where he remained undefeated, apart from a loss against the later winner Vincent Keymer. The current format of the national title fights has been changed so that the best players in the country are now allowed to participate, which has increased the competitive conditions considerably.

Other remarkable achievements are the fourth place at the Budapest chess festival and the narrowly missed medal at the U20 World Championship in Montenegro. Despite the successes, Costa remains modest and plans to start studying electronics after graduating from high school. He is aware that the pressure of professional chess playing could affect the fun of the game.

intensive preparation and future outlook

Currently, Costa trains 16 hours a week under the guidance of the Ukrainian grand master Pawel Eljanow. He is also supported by various trainers, including Michael Prusikin, who has been looking after him since 2018. This rigorous preparation aims to achieve the desired ELO number of 2600, for which he still lacks about 70 points.

For the coming time, it remains to be seen whether Leonardo Costa will follow the way to the chess professional or whether he focuses on his training. In any case, he has already left a significant influence on the German chess scene and remains a promising figure for the future of sport.