Full list of chess Grandmasters from India

Alex is web content writer who is covering various sports, technology in sports and igaming space from 2017.

Published at :October 30, 2025 at 8:43 PM

Modified at :October 30, 2025 at 8:43 PM

16-year-old Ilamparthi AR became the 90th Grandmaster from India.

Grandmasters (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from world champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain and once achieved, the title is held for life, though can be revoked for cheating.

The first GM titles were awarded to 27 players in 1950, and the qualifications to become a GM have changed throughout the years. FIDE currently awards the title of GM to a player who achieves 2500 FIDE classical (or ‘standard’) rating and three GM norms. Each GM norm is extremely difficult to attain, and there are many rules for what constitutes a norm.

As of October 2025, India boasts an impressive chess roster with 90 Grandmasters (GM), including four female players holding the esteemed title.

Also Read: A look at four chess female grandmasters from India

Manuel Aaron secured the distinction of being India’s first titled player when he became the first International Master (IM) in 1961, while Viswanathan Anand achieved the historic feat of becoming India’s inaugural Grandmaster in 1988.

The trailblazers among Indian woman in chess include Jayshree Khadilkar, who earned the WIM title in 1979 and Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi, who became the first to claim the WGM title in 2001.

The prestigious title of Grandmaster for woman in India was first attained by Koneru Humpy in 2002, while Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi became an IM in the same year. These milestones mark significant achievements in the Indian chess landscape, showcasing the remarkable talent and progress within the country’s chess community.

Also Read: Top five greatest Indian chess players of all-time

List of Indian chess Grandmasters

1987 – Viswanathan Anand, Tamil Nadu
1991 – Dibyendu Barua, West Bengal
1997 – Pravin Thipsay, Maharashtra
2000 – Abhijit Kunte, Maharashtra
2000 – K Sasikiran, Tamil Nadu
2001 – Pentala Harikrishna, AndhraPradesh
2002 – Koneru Humpy, Andhra Pradesh
2003 – Surya Sekhar Ganguly, West Bengal
2003 – Sandipan Chanda, West Bengal
2004 – RB Ramesh, Tamil Nadu
2004 – Tejas Bakre, Gujarat
2006 – P.Magesh Chandran, Tamil Nadu
2006 – Deepan Chakravarthy, Tamil Nadu
2006 – Neelotpal Das, West Bengal
2006 – Parimarjan Negi, Delhi
2007 – GN Gopal, Kerala
2008 – Abhijeet Gupta, Rajasthan
2008 – S.Arun Prasad, Tamil Nadu
2009 – S.Kidambi, Tamil Nadu
2009 – RR Laxman, Tamil Nadu
2010 – Sriram Jha, Delhi
2010 – Deep Sengupta, West Bengal
2010 – B Adhiban, Tamil Nadu
2011 – SP Sethuraman, Tamil Nadu
2011 – Harika Dronavalli, Andhra Pradesh
2012 – Lalith Babu M R, Andhra Pradesh
2012 – Vaibhav Suri, Delhi
2012 – MR Venkatesh, Tamil Nadu
2012 – Sahaj Grover, Delhi
2013 – Vidit Gujrathi, Maharashtra
2013 – Shyam Sundar M, Tamil Nadu
2013 – Akhshayraj Kore, Maharashtra
2013 – Vishnu Prasanna, Tamil Nadu
2013 – Debashis Das, Odisha
2013 – Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury, West Bengal
2014 – Ankit Rajpara, Gujarat
2015 – Aravindh Chithambaram, Tamil Nadu
2015 – Karthikeyan Murali, Tamil Nadu
2015 – Ashwin Jayaram, Tamil Nadu
2015 – Swapnil S Dhopade, Maharashtra
2015 – SL Narayanan, Kerala
2016 – Shardul Gagare, Maharashtra
2016 – Diptayan Ghosh, West Bengal
2016 – Priyadarshan K, Tamil Nadu
2017 – Aryan Chopra, Delhi
2017 – Srinath Narayanan, Tamil Nadu
2017 – Himanshu Sharma, Haryana
2017 – Anurag Mhamal, Goa
2017 – Abhimanyu Puranik, Maharashtra
2017 – Thej Kumar M S, Karnataka
2018 – Saptarshi Roy, West Bengal
2018 – Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Tamil Nadu
2018 – Nihal Sarin, Kerala
2018 – Erigaisi Arjun, Telangana
2018 – Karthik Venkataraman, Telangana
2018 – Harsha Bharathakoti, Telangana
2018 – P Karthikeyan, Tamil Nadu
2018 – Stany George Anthony, Karnataka
2019 – Visakh N R, Tamil Nadu
2019 – Dommaraju Gukesh, Tamil Nadu
2019 – PanneerselvamIniyan, Tamil Nadu
2019 – Swayams Mishra, Odisha
2019 – Girish Koushik, Karnataka
2019 – Prithu Gupta, Delhi
2019 – Raunak Sadhwani, Maharashtra
2020 – Akash Ganesan, Tamil Nadu
2020 – Leon Mendonca, Goa
2021 – Arjun Kalyan, Tamil Nadu
2021 – Harshit Raja, Maharashtra
2021 – Raja Rithvik, Telangana
2021 – Sankalp Gupta, Maharashtra
2021 – Mitrabha Guha, West Bengal
2022 – Bharath Subramaniyam, Tamil Nadu
2022 – Rahul Srivatshav P, Telangana
2022 – V Pranav, Tamil Nadu
2022 – Pranav Anand, Karnatka
2022 – Aditya Mittal, Maharashtra
2023 – Koustav Chatterjee, West Bengal
2023 – Pranesh M, Tamil Nadu
2023 – Vignesh N R, Tamil Nadu
2023 – Sayantan Das, West Bengal
2023 – Vuppala Prraneeth, Telengana
2023 – Aditya Samant, Maharashtra
2023 – Vaishali Rameshbabu, Tamil Nadu
2024 – Shyaam Nikhil P, Tamil Nadu
2025 – Srihari LR, Tamil Nadu
2025 – Harikrishnan A Ra, Tamil Nadu
2025 – Divya Deshmukh, Maharashtra
2025 – Rohith Krishna S, Tamil Nadu
2025 – Ilamparthi AR, Tamil Nadu

What is the title of Chess Grandmaster?

This is a title awarded by FIDE to the best chess players. It can be attained by achieving three Grandmaster norms along with a FIDE rating of 2600 or more.

How many chess grandmasters are there from India?

India has a total of 90 grandmasters in chess, as of October 2025.

Who was the first-ever Indian to become chess grandmaster?

Viswanathan Anand was the first-ever Indian to achieve the title of chess grandmaster.

Who was the first female player from India to become chess grandmaster?

Koneru Humpy holds the feat of becoming the first Indian female player to achieve the title of chess grandmaster. Meanwhile, Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi was the first Woman Grandmaster (WGM) from India.

Who is the latest player from India to achieve the title of grandmaster?

On October 30, 2025, Ilamparthi AR from Chennai became India’s 90th Grandmaster. The 16-year-old from Tamil Nadu achieved the status by securing his final GM norm at the Bijeljina Open in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

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Alex

Alex graduated in mass communication in 2016 and has been covering global sports for Khel Now since then. He is covering sports tech, igaming, sports betting and casino domain from 2017.