Chess in India

Chess has risen in popularity in India in the last few decades primarily due to chess Grandmaster and former 5-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand.

It is believed that chess originated from Chaturanga of ancient India. The All India Chess Federation is the governing body for chess in India.

Records / Firsts

 * First National Champion: Ramchandra Sapre (1955).
 * First Indian International Master: Manuel Aaron (1961).
 * First Indian Grandmaster: Viswanathan Anand (1988).
 * First Indian Women's Grandmaster: Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (2001).
 * First Indian participation in a Chess Olympiad: 1956, 12th Chess Olympiad at Moscow.
 * First Blind Chess Olympiad hosted by India: 2012, 14th Blind Chess Olympiad in Chennai.
 * First Indian Asian Senior Chess Champion (65+): Wazeer Ahmad Khan, 6th Asian Seniors at Lar in 2015.
 * Youngest Indian Grandmaster: Gukesh D at the age of 12. (2018)
 * First Chess Olympiad hosted in India: 2022, 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai
 * Maximum number of Indian National Championship wins: 9 by Manuel Aaron.
 * Maximum number of Indian National Championship (Women) wins: 6 by Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi.
 * Maximum number of Indian National Championship (Blind) wins: 6 by Kishan Gangolli.
 * Youngest winner of the Candidates Tournament: Gukesh D at the age of 17 (Candidates Tournament 2024).

World Championships

 * Viswanathan Anand, held the FIDE title from 2000 to 2002, and the unified title from 2007 to 2013.
 * Gukesh D (challenger), scheduled to face defending world champion Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship 2024.

Highest rated players
The highest ranked Indian players are:
 * Gukesh D, ranked 6th in the world as of June 2024 with a rating of 2763
 * Arjun Erigaisi, ranked 8th in the world as of June 2024 with a rating of 2761.
 * R Praggnanandhaa, ranked 13th in the world as of June 2024 with a rating of 2747.
 * Koneru Humpy, ranked 5th in the world (Women's FIDE ratings) as of June 2024 with a rating of 2545.
 * Harika Dronavali, ranked 12th in the world (Women's FIDE ratings) as of June 2024 with a rating of 2489.
 * Vaishali Rameshbabu, ranked 14th in the world (Women's FIDE ratings) as of June 2024 with a rating of 2489.

World Top Lists
As of November 2021, the following is the number of Indian chess players in various segments:


 * World's Top 100: 6
 * World's Top 100 Women: 6
 * World's Top 100 Juniors (age under 20): 20
 * World's Top 100 Girls (age under 20): 12

GM and WGM Titles
India has produced:


 * 81 Grandmasters. The latest GM is Sayanta Das.

Men
The top 10 Indian grandmasters as of January 2024 are listed below. India has 9 players in top 100 FIDE Open rating list in 2023.

Viswanathan Anand is currently No. 9 in the FIDE World Rankings and the former World Champion. Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and former world chess champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating of 2800, a feat he first achieved in 2006.

Women
The top 10 women Indian chess players are listed below as of November 2013.

Blind players
The top blind Indian chess players are listed below as of December 2021.