Who is Ilamparthi AR: 16-year-old chess prodigy becomes India’s 90th Chess Grandmaster

Before becoming a Grandmaster, Ilamparthi AR was ranked World No. 1 in the Under-8 category back in 2017.

A new star has risen in Indian chess. Chennai-born Ilamparthi AR, at just 16 years old has become India’s 90th Grandmaster, marking yet another proud moment for the country’s ever-growing chess legacy.

The teenager achieved his final GM norm at the Bijeljina Open 2025 in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday, October 30, and became the nation’s latest grandmaster.

It’s a huge moment for Ilamparthi, who has been making waves in the chess world for years now. He earned his first GM norm at the Ha Noi tournament in Vietnam in December 2023, followed by his second at the Singapore International Open in 2024.

Ilamparthi’s father Ravikumar told reporters that Ilamparthi had narrowly missed securing his last norm in six previous tournaments since April 2025. However, with this performance in Bosnia, Ilamparthi completed all the requirements for the title including crossing the 2500 Elo rating mark earlier this year.

It all started way back when he was just five and a half years old. That’s when Ilamparthi earned his first FIDE rating, making him one of the youngest rated players in India.

Also Read: Full list of chess Grandmasters from India

He won numerous national and state-level championships and was ranked World No. 1 in the Under-8 category by early 2017.

The journey, however, wasn’t always easy. Financial challenges initially limited his participation in international tournaments, but the talent was worth it all.

Grandmaster Anish Giri stepped in to support the young player, helping him gain exposure and compete abroad. Ilamparthi rewarded that faith in 2022 when he became the World Under-14 Open Champion. The following year, at just 13, he became an International Master.

Today, Ilamparthi gets the training at the prestigious WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA), where he learns under the mentorship of India’s greatest chess icon, Viswanathan Anand.

“Ilamparthi is a dedicated and a hardworking boy with zero distractions. He spends most of his time at my academy whenever he’s in Chennai,” his trainier GM Shyam Sundar told the ChessBase India.

“He has always listened to whatever I say! For instance:- He loves to solve studies, but at some point I felt it was affecting his game, and I told him to not do that for a while and he listened and hasn’t done studies for quite some time,” Shyam Sundar added.

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