Daniel Dardha

Daniel Dardha
Country	Belgium
Born	1 October 2005 (2005-10) (age 19)[1] Mortsel, Belgium[1]
Title	Grandmaster (2021)
FIDE rating	2652 (February 2025)
Peak rating	2652 (February 2025)
Ranking	No. 77 (February 2025)
Peak ranking	No. 77 (February 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.[2]

Chess career

In 2017, aged 12, he won the U-14 Blitz Chess Championship.[3] He earned his International Master title in 2019, shortly after winning the Belgian Chess Championship.[2] 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.[4]

He won the Belgian Chess Championship for the third time in 2022.[5]

He did not defend his title in 2023, playing instead in the 2023 Chess World Cup. He defeated Goh Wei Ming in the first round, but was defeated by Vincent Keymer in the second round.

He won the Belgian Chess Championship for the fourth time in 2024.[6][7]

Personal life

Dardha's 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.[2] His family name means pear in English.

References

1. "FIDE Title Application (IM)" (PDF).
2. "Daniel Dardha, a Belgian champion at 13!". Chess News. 2019-08-31. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
3. "Daniel Dardha Wereldkampioen Snelschaken bij -14 jarige - Schaakkring Deurne-Zuid". www.schaakkringdeurne-zuid.net. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
4. Times, The Brussels. "15-year-old is youngest Belgian Grandmaster in chess world". www.brusselstimes.com. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
5. Sergio (20 August 2022). "Daniel Dardha wins the Belgian Chess Championship, crosses 2600 ELO – Chessdom". www.chessdom.com. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
6. Echecs, Europe (2023-09-08). "Championnat de Belgique 2023 - Premier titre de Champion de Belgique pour Lennert Lenaerts !". www.europe-echecs.com (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-31.
7. Echecs, Europe (2024-07-15). "Championnat de Belgique 2024 - 4e titre de champion de Belgique pour Daniel Dardha !". www.europe-echecs.com (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-31.

External links

• Daniel Dardha player profile and games at Chessgames.com
• Daniel Dardha rating card at FIDE