Top five youngest Indians to become Grandmasters in chess

These are the names of individuals who overcame all the adversities and stood out from a very young age.

Chess is a game that requires immense mental skill. It's a game of the mind that requires top-tier intelligence and the ability to calculate moves in advance. You need to have foresight and accommodate everything your opponent throws at you. You do not need to be physically strong or be an absolute physical specimen to master this sport.

Neither you have to hit the gym nor hire the services of a nutritionist to find that excellence you strive. Yes, you may if you wish but that would be totally on you. Moreover, you are also not divided into age brackets wherein you only have to play with players your age. Additionally, you aren't segregated into genders either. A professional chess player has the liberty of playing a much older and more experienced player given he/she has the required ranking points. Who can forget a 13-year-old Magnus Carlsen playing against Gary Kasparov? Or when Magnus himself lost to one of the youngest Indian Grandmasters like R. Pragnnanandhaa and Gukesh D.

As such it is no surprise to find teens and even pre-teens achieving great success in this particular sport. Mind you it's no easy task as you are pitted against the 'creme de la creme' from around the globe. However, these Indian younglings overcame all those adversities. So today we are going to look at these players who were the youngest to be crowned Grand Masters in chess from the subcontinent. Here's a look at the top five youngest Indian to become Grandmasters in Chess.

5. Koneru Humpy (15 years 1 month)

The only Indian woman on this decorated list. She is also the oldest Indian on the list of the youngest Grandmasters. Currently 35 years old, Andhra Pradesh's Koneru Humpy did it at just 15 years. She had already won three gold medals at the World Youth Chess Championship in 1997, 1998 and 1999. All these victories came in three different age categories. She won the World Junior Girls Championship in 2001.

The following year too, she finished first in the World Junior Girls Championship. However, she had to settle for a second position based on her tiebreak score. The same year in 2002 Humpy became the eighth-ever female Grandmaster. Koneru is still very active in the sport at 35 years of age. The two times Asian Games gold medalist is also the second woman behind Judit Polgar to exceed the 2600 Elo rating mark.

4. Raunak Sadhwani (13 years 9 months 28 days)

Raunak Sadhwani became a Grandmaster at just 13 years. Sadhwani hails from Nagpur, Maharashtra and became the ninth youngest player in history to earn this feat.

Sadhwani's recent achievements include playing in the 2021 Bullet Chess Championship. An event where he competed along with the likes of GMs like Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Levon Aronian among others. Raunak also won a bronze medal with the Indian team at the 2022 FIDE Olympiad.

3. Parimarjan Negi (13 years 4 months 22 days)

Parimarjan Negi might have bid adieu to the game of chess but his legacy still lives on. Negi was a recipient of many accolades that made him a sought player during his young playing career. He won the Asian Youth Championship in 2002 in Tehran. Soon after he started collecting his GM norms in a quick fashion.

He earned his first at the Hastings International Chess Congress and his second at the 4th Parsvnath International Open Chess Tournament in Delhi. He earned his third and final norm in July 2006 at the Chelyabinsk Region Superfinal Championship in Satka, Russia. The match saw Negi's match ending in a draw against Russian GM Ruslan Sherbakov.

2. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (12 years 10 months 13 days)

R. Praggnanandhaa is definitely a part of the new-age talent that India has produced. He is one of the youngest Indians ever to be Grandmasters. Many are even calling the young GM the rightful successor of Vishwanathan Anand. Pragg as he is lovingly called burst into the chess scene and left his mark at quite a tender age.

Praggnanandhaa earned his GM norm in June 2018 at the Gredine Open in Urtijei Italy. He defeated Luca Moroni to earn that distinction. Pragg also holds another achievement in his decorated career. He became the third Indian player to win a game against world champion Magnus Carlsen.

1. Gukesh Dommaraju (12 years 7 months 17 days)

Gukesh Dommaraju or Gukesh D as he is called became the youngest ever Indian player to become a Grandmaster. Born to a doctor father and a microbiologist mother Gukesh's prowess on the chess board was second to none. Gukesh is equally adept at multiple formats of the game including rapids and blitz.

His successful exploits include his five gold medal haul at the 2018 Asian Youth Chess Championships. As well as the Asian School Chess Championships which he won in 2015. The Chennai lad was also close to surpassing Sergey Karjakin's record of becoming the second youngest GM but missed it just by 17 days. He is also the youngest player in the world to beat World Champion Magnus Carlsen. He did it in the Aimchess Rapid tournament.