Chess in India

{{See also|Chaturanga|History of chess}}

File:Radha-Krishna chess.jpg, which laid the foundation for modern chess]]

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.{{Cite web |last=Alfarsi |first=Haroun |date=2024-05-23 |title=History and Origins of Chess: From India to Persia and Europe |url=https://www.profolus.com/topics/history-origins-of-chess-game/ |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=Profolus |language=en-us}}

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.

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. 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.https://web.archive.org/web/20201118095131/https://www.espn.com/chess/story/_/id/30265331/gender-trenders-queens-gambit-how-india-women-chess-pioneers-fought-patriarchal-system-won

File:Viswanathan Anand 08 14 2005.jpg is credited with popularizing chess in modern India. ]]

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.

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.https://web.archive.org/web/20240803195020/https://www.localsamosa.com/people-culture/chess-grandmasters-of-india-6264939{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/humpy-emerges-winner-at-elekes/articleshow/11312648.cms|title=Humpy emerges winner at Elekes|date=29 May 2002|access-date=7 September 2023|newspaper=The Times of India}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-21 |title=World Chess Championship: Viswanathan Anand's glittering legacy that shaped India's golden generation |url=https://www.firstpost.com/sports/world-chess-championship-viswanathan-anand-d-gukesh-indian-chess-golden-generation-13837311.html |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=Firstpost |language=en-us}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-05 |title=World Chess Championship 2024 recap: Gukesh Dommaraju becomes youngest ever undisputed world champion - The Mancunion |url=https://mancunion.com/2025/02/05/world-chess-championship-2024-recap-gukesh-dommaraju-becomes-youngest-ever-undisputed-world-champion/ |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=mancunion.com |language=en-GB}}

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.{{Cite web |title=FIDE Ratings and Statistics |url=https://ratings.fide.com/ |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=ratings.fide.com}}{{Cite web |date=2024-12-13 |title=Gukesh Dommaraju: How the Indian teenager became youngest world chess champion |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23vn7x4012o |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2024-12-16 |title=D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi lead the way as the golden generation of Indian chess finally comes of age in 2024 |url=https://www.firstpost.com/sports/d-gukesh-arjun-erigaisi-lead-the-way-as-the-golden-generation-of-indian-chess-finally-comes-of-age-2024-year-in-review-13844764.html |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=Firstpost |language=en-us}}

As per FIDE's October 2024 rankings.{{cite web |title=Chess Rankings India Open |url=https://ratings.fide.com/rankings.phtml?country=IND&gender=M | website=ratings.fide.com |publisher=World Chess Federation (FIDE)}}

As per FIDE's October 2024 rankings.{{cite web |title=Chess Rankings India Female |url=https://ratings.fide.com/rankings.phtml?country=IND&gender=F | website=ratings.fide.com |publisher=World Chess Federation (FIDE)}}

• First National Champion: Ramchandra Sapre (1955)
• First Indian International Master: Manuel Aaron (1961)
• First Indian Grandmaster: Viswanathan Anand (1988)
• First Indian Woman Grandmaster: Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (2001)
• First Indian participation in a Chess Olympiad: 1956, 12th Chess Olympiad at Moscow
• 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
• 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)
• Youngest winner of the Candidates Tournament: Gukesh D at the age of 17 (2024)
• 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

• Updated till September 2024

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

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.aicf.in All India Chess Federation]
• [https://www.indianculture.gov.in/rarebooks/history-chess-time-early-invention-game-india-till-period-its-establishment-western-and The History of Chess: from the Time of the Early Invention of the Game in India till the Period of its establishment in Western and Central Europe]

{{Sport in India}}

{{Geography of chess}}

{{Indian grandmasters}}

{{Indian woman grandmasters}}