International Master Polina Shuvalova has become the first woman to reach a 3000 blitz rating on Chess.com, peaking at 3015 on March 29. Meanwhile, 10-year-old Candidate Master Aarit Kapil set a new record as the youngest player to achieve the milestone, hitting 3058.
IM Polina Shuvalova, a 25-year-old Russian playing as Flawless_Fighter, crossed the 3000 blitz threshold after more than 10,000 games on the platform. A win against an international master propelled her to the peak rating. She previously held the record as the highest-rated woman in blitz and has a strong history on Chess.com, including winning the 2023 I'M Not A GM Speed Chess Championship against IM Levy Rozman and reaching the final of last year's Women's Speed Chess Championship, where she lost to GM Ju Wenjun. Shuvalova said of breaking records, 'It feels nice, it's always good to beat a record,' noting she uses the site for training. Ten-year-old Aarit Kapil from New Delhi, known online as Unstoppable_Aarit, reached 3058 in blitz, surpassing IM Faustino Oro's 2024 record by two months. Now among the top-five FIDE-rated players born after 2015 with a rating above 2300—earning him the FM title—he nearly defeated world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen in Titled Tuesday last year. His father, Vijay Kapil, shared, 'He is very happy about the record, but he wants to achieve more. He is enjoying playing… and he is enjoying the process.' Aarit highlighted a recent victory over GM Matthias Bluebaum, who is competing in the FIDE Candidates Tournament. The family is touring Europe, with upcoming events at the Grenke Chess Festival in Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Menorca Open in Spain.
