Chess in India

Chess originated in India with its earliest known form, chaturanga, dating back roughly 1,500 years to the 6th century, during the Gupta Empire. Chaturanga is considered the earliest precursor to modern chess because it had key features that would appear in later variations: different pieces possessing different powers and victory depending on the fate of one piece, the king.^[1][6]

As trade and cultural exchanges flourished along the Silk Road, Chaturanga spread to Persia, where it evolved into Shatranj. The game underwent further refinements in the Islamic world and medieval Europe, ultimately transforming into the modern chess we recognize today.^[1][6]

Modern chess in India began officially with the formation of All India Chess Federation in 1951. This was soon followed by the first Indian Chess Championship, held in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh. In 1956, India made its debut at the 12th Chess Olympiad in Moscow.^[4] Then, Manuel Aaron achieved the feat as the first Indian to become an International Master, in 1961.

In 1977, Rohini Khadilkar became the first female player to compete in the Indian Chess Championship. Some players objected to her being in the tournament because she was female. Her father wrote to the World Chess Federation president, Max Euwe, and Euwe ruled that female players could not be barred from open chess events.^[7]

In 1988, 19-year old Viswanathan Anand of Chennai became India's first Grandmaster. He then embarked on a journey to become the first Indian to qualify for the Candidates Tournament, win the Candidates in 1995, 1998 and then finally become the World Champion in 2000 by beating Spain's Alexei Shirov. He would go on to defend the title for more than a decade, until he lost the Championship to Magnus Carlsen in 2013. In 1997, the All India Chess Federation for the Blind was formed with the intention of promoting chess amongst the country's visually impaired people.^[4]

Subbaraman Vijayalaksmi became the country's first Woman International Master in 1996. She then became India's first Woman Grandmaster in 2001. Soon, in 2002 Koneru Humpy became the youngest female player ever, and the first Indian female player, to achieve the title of Grandmaster, aged 15 years, 1 month, 27 days, a record only since surpassed by Hou Yifan.^[8][9] India's first Chess Olympiad medal was a bronze in 2014. In 2022, India won bronze medals in the Open and Women category in the first Chess Olympiad hosted by India at Chennai. The nation's first Olympiad gold was then clenched in both categories at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest.^[4][10]

In 2024, Gukesh D made history by becoming the youngest player to win the Candidates Tournament, subsequently clinching the World Chess Championship title with a narrow one-point victory over Ding Liren.^[11]

As of December 2024, India boasts 85 chess grandmasters, with 13 ranked among the world's top 100 players. The country has over 30,000 rated players actively participating in officially sanctioned tournaments nationwide. This robust participation has solidified India's status as a chess superpower, with its top 10 players achieving an average Elo rating of 2721, ranking second globally.^[12][13][14]

Note should be made here of the singular phenomenon of Mir Sultan Khan (1903-1966), who was born in Mitha Tiwana, then in British India, now in Pakistan. In 1929 he won the all-India Chess Championship, and in 1929 he accompanied a rich Indian to London as a servant. From 1930 to 1933, Sultan Khan stunned the chess world by winning the British Championship thrice in four years, and defeating players like Capablanca, Tartakower and Akiba Rubinstein. He was never heard from again after 1933. Chess did not have formal titles at the time, but there is no doubt he would have ranked in the top 10 or 20 players. In 2024, FIDE posthumously awarded him the title of Honorary Grandmaster.

• First National Champion: Ramchandra Sapre (1955)
• First Indian International Master: Manuel Aaron (1961)^[4]
• First Indian Grandmaster: Viswanathan Anand (1988)^[4]
• First Indian Woman Grandmaster: Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (2001)^[4]
• First Indian participation in a Chess Olympiad: 1956, 12th Chess Olympiad at Moscow^[4]
• First Blind Chess Olympiad hosted by India: 2012, 14th Blind Chess Olympiad in Chennai
• First Indian Asian Senior Chess Champion: Wazeer Ahmad Khan, 6th Asian Seniors at Lar in 2015
• First Chess Olympiad hosted in India: 2022, 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai^[4]
• 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 Indian Grandmaster: Gukesh D at the age of 12 (2018)^[4]
• Youngest winner of the Candidates Tournament: Gukesh D at the age of 17 (2024)^[4]
• Youngest World Champion: Gukesh D at the age of 18
• Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali are the first brother-sister duo to earn GM titles and to qualify for the Candidates Tournament

• List of Indian chess players
• Indian chess
• All India Chess Federation for the Blind
• Chess Players Association of India