Top 10 Indian Chess Players Who Made History

Indian Chess Players

India has seen a rise of chess legacies in the past few decades. Some of these top Indian chess legends have transformed the game. These top Indian chess players are some of the world’s most famous global powerhouses. In this article, we will list the top 10 famous Indian chess grandmasters who are some of the best chess players in India.

Top 10 chess players in India

Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand is one of the first names that come to mind. When considering the Indian legends, he is one of the top Indian chess players who has made the nation proud. Born on December 11, 1969, in Tamil Nadu, he was taught chess at the age of six by his mother. He studied at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School and then completed his bachelor’s of commerce from Loyola College, Chennai. He earned the title of grandmaster in 1988. He has won five World Championship awards. He was the first Asian to win the World Chess Championship.

Pentala Harikrishna

Pentala Harikrishna is another name on the list of famous Indian chess grandmasters. He was born on May 10, 1986, in Andhra Pradesh. He was a child prodigy who was extremely talented in chess. He became a grandmaster in the year 2001. He was the youngest Indian grandmaster at the time and won the World Junior Championship in 2004 and the Asian Individual Championship in 2011.

Vidit Santosh Gujrathi

Vidit Santosh Gujrathi is a popular name on a list of the best chess players in India. He became a world chess champion at the age of 18 in January 2013. He was born in 1994 in Madhya Pradesh. He won the World Youth Chess Championship under 14 in 2008. He secured a bronze medal in the World Junior Chess Championship held in Turkey.

Dommaraju Gukesh

Dommaraju Gukesh is a recent name that has made India proud. He is one of the top 10 chess players in India. He was born on 29 May 2006 in Tamil Nadu. His father is an ENT surgeon, and his mother is a microbiologist. He started learning chess at the age of seven. He became a grandmaster in 2019, when he was just 12 years and seven months old. He is the youngest player to qualify for the candidate tournament in 2024. He is the winner of the Olympiad 2022.

R. Praggnanandhaa

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was born on 10 August 2005 in Tamil Nadu. He started learning chess at the age of five, inspired by his sister. He became a grandmaster in the year 2018, when he was just 12 years and 10 months old. He is the youngest player to defeat Magnus Carlsen in a classical game. He won the silver medal in the FIDE World Cup 2023. He also has multiple youth world titles. He is one of the top chess players on a list of the Indian chess legends.

Arjun Erigaisi

Arjun Erigaisi was born on 3 September 2003 in Warangal, Telangana. He started playing chess at the early age of seven and quickly started becoming a popular player in national and international chess youth events. He became a grandmaster at the age of 14 in 2018. He won the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz Award in 2022 and is the first Indian to win the Tata Steel Challenger Award.

Krishnan Sasikiran

Krishnan Sasikiran became the grandmaster in 2000 at the Commonwealth Championship. Krishna was born on 7 January 1983 in Tamil Nadu. He started learning chess at the age of nine from his father. He is the 4-time Indian chess champion winner and also the winner of the Asian Junior Test Championship in 1999 and is among the top five ranked chess players over the decade.

Baskaran Adhiban

Baskaran Adhiban is a legendary chess player on a list of the best chess players in India. He was born on 15 August 1992 in Tamil Nadu. He won the under-16 Asian championship in 2007 and the under-16 world championship in 2008. He won the grand title in the year 2010. He is the bronze medal winner of the Asian Games in 2010. He won the premier national championship in 2009.

Nihal Sarin

Nihal Sarin is another name on our list of the famous Indian chess grandmasters. He became a grandmaster at the age of 14 in 2018. His father is a doctor, and his mother is a professor. He started learning chess at the age of four and was born on 13 July 2004 in Kerala. He became a grandmaster at the age of 14 in 2018. He won the World Chess Youth Championship in 2014. He won the Tata Steel Chess India Blitz 2021.

Koneru Humpy

The final name on a list of the Indian chess legends is Koneru Humpy, born on 31 March 1987 in Andhra Pradesh. Koneru became the youngest woman to be awarded the grand title at the age of 15 in 2002. She was coached by her father for the various chess events. She won the women’s world rapid test championship in 2019. She is also a three-time Asian Women’s Chess Champion. She has also won the Arjuna Award and Padma Shri for her excellence in the game.