Chess has a deep-rooted history in India, widely believed to have originated from the game of chaturanga during the Gupta Empire in circa 6th century CE. Over centuries, it evolved and spread across the world, influencing modern chess as we know it today.
In the contemporary era, India has emerged as a major chess power, excelling in international tournaments and the country currently has the second best federation in the world with a 2712 top-ten rating. The country holds multiple Chess Olympiad victories in both the men's and women's sections and has crowned two World Chess Champions: Viswanathan Anand, a five-time champion who revolutionized Indian chess, and Gukesh Dommaraju, the current reigning champion.
The rise of chess in modern India is often credited to Anand, whose dominance from the late 1990s to the early 2010s inspired a generation of players. His success, coupled with the growth of digital platforms and widespread grassroots training programs, has fueled a chess boom, making India one of the leading nations in the sport. The country now has a robust chess ecosystem, supported by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and a network of state associations, academies, and online communities.
Early history
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.
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 history 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
Current rankings Open As per FIDE's September 2026 rankings.
# Title Player World Rank Rating Age 1 GM R Praggnanandhaa 1 2761 2 GM Arjun Erigaisi 2 2759 3 GM Viswanathan Anand 3 2739 4 GM Nihal Sarin 4 2718 5 GM Gukesh Dommaraju 5 2703 6 GM Vidit Gujrathi 6 2697 7 GM Pranav Venkatesh 7 2677 8 GM Aravindh Chithambaram 8 2677 9 GM Pranesh M 9 2674 10 GM Pentala Harikrishna 10 2648
Women As per FIDE's December 2025 rankings. # Title Player World Rank Rating Age 1 GM Humpy Koneru 5 2535 2 GM Divya Deshmukh 12 2497 3 GM Vaishali Rameshbabu 17 2473 4 GM Harika Dronavalli 19 2466 5 WGM Rakshitta Ravi 62 2381 6 IM Vantika Agrawal 71 2369 7 IM Padmini Rout 87 2354 8 IM Savitha Shri B 100+ 2334 9 IM Bhakti Kulkarni 100+ 2316 10 IM Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi 100+ 2311
National and international records 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 (2024) Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali are the first brother-sister duo to earn GM titles and to qualify for the Candidates Tournament
Medal table Summary - Team Tournament Team TotalOlympiadM1124F1023X1012World Team ChampionshipM0011F0101Asian GamesM0112F0101X1001Asian Indoor and Martial Arts GamesM0033F0011X1225Asian Team ChampionshipM36413F0538World Mind Sports GamesX0101Total 8 18 20 46
Summary - Individual Tournament Gender TotalWorld ChampionshipM55010F0167World RapidWorld BlitzM2248F1236World CupM2103F1102OlympiadM45211F44614Asian GamesM0000F1012World Team ChampionshipM3047F25411Asian Team ChampionshipM20151449F6171033Asian Indoor and Martial Arts GamesM2024F2024Total555852165
Updated till 31 December 2025
Olympiad
Open Medal Event Team Points 2014 Tromsø Parimarjan NegiPanayappan SethuramanSasikiran KrishnanAdhiban BaskaranMusunuri Rohit Lalit Babu 17 2022 Chennai Gukesh DommarajuNihal SarinPraggnanandhaa RameshbabuAdhiban BaskaranRaunak Sadhwani 18 2024 Budapest Gukesh DommarajuPraggnanandhaa RameshbabuArjun ErigaisiVidit GujrathiPentala Harikrishna 21 2026 Samarkand Praggnanandhaa RameshbabuArjun ErigaisiNihal SarinGukesh DommarajuVidit Gujrathi 18
Open Individual Medal Event Player Category 2004 Calvià Viswanathan Anand Best performance rating 2012 Istanbul Abhijeet Gupta Board 4 2014 Tromsø Sasikiran Krishnan Board 3 2022 Chennai Gukesh Dommaraju Board 1 Nihal Sarin Board 2 Arjun Erigaisi Board 3 Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu Board 3 2024 Budapest Gukesh Dommaraju Board 1 Arjun Erigaisi Board 3 2026 Samarkand Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu Board 3 Gukesh Dommaraju Board 4
Women Medal Event Team Points 2022 Chennai Koneru HumpyHarika DronavalliVaishali RameshbabuTania SachdevBhakti Kulkarni 17 2024 Budapest Harika DronavalliVaishali RameshbabuDivya DeshmukhVantika AgrawalTania Sachdev 19 2026 Samarkand Koneru HumpyVaishali RameshbabuDivya DeshmukhVantika AgrawalSavitha Shri Baskar 17
Women Individual Medal Event Player Category 2000 Istanbul Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi Board 1 2002 Bled Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi Board 1 2008 Dresden Mary Ann Gomes Board 5 2012 Istanbul Tania Sachdev Board 3 2014 Tromsø Padmini Rout Board 5 2022 Chennai Vaishali Rameshbabu Board 3 Tania Sachdev Board 4 Divya Deshmukh Board 5 2024 Budapest Divya Deshmukh Board 3 Vantika Agrawal Board 4 2026 Samarkand Koneru Humpy Board 1 Divya Deshmukh Board 3 Vantika Agrawal Board 4 Savitha Shri Baskar Board 5
Online Medal Event Team 2020 Viswanathan AnandVidit GujrathiKoneru HumpyHarika DronavalliNihal SarinDivya DeshmukhPentala HarikrishnaAravindh ChithambaramBhakti KulkarniVaishali RameshbabuPraggnanandhaa RameshbabuVantika Agrawal 2021 Viswanathan AnandVidit GujrathiKoneru HumpyHarika DronavalliNihal SarinVaishali RameshbabuPentala HarikrishnaAdhiban BaskaranTania SachdevBhakti KulkarniPraggnanandhaa RameshbabuSavitha Shri Baskar
World Championship Open Year Player Result Score 1995 Viswanathan Anand 7.5 1998 Viswanathan Anand 3 2000 Viswanathan Anand 3.5 2005 Viswanathan Anand 8.5 2007 Viswanathan Anand 9 2008 Viswanathan Anand 6.5 2010 Viswanathan Anand 6.5 2012 Viswanathan Anand 8.5 2013 Viswanathan Anand 3.5 2014 Viswanathan Anand 4.5 2024 Gukesh Dommaraju 7.5
Women Year Player Result Score 2004 Koneru Humpy Semifinalist 2008 Koneru Humpy Semifinalist 2010 Koneru Humpy Semifinalist 2011 Koneru Humpy 2.5 2012 Harika Dronavalli Semifinalist 2015 Harika Dronavalli Semifinalist 2017 Harika Dronavalli Semifinalist
World Rapid and Blitz Championships Open Rapid Medal Event Player 2003 Cap d'Agde Viswanathan Anand 2014 Dubai Viswanathan Anand 2017 Riyadh Viswanathan Anand 2025 Doha Arjun Erigaisi
Blitz Medal Event Player 2007 Moscow Viswanathan Anand 2009 Moscow Viswanathan Anand 2017 Riyadh Viswanathan Anand 2025 Doha Arjun Erigaisi
Women Rapid Medal Event Player 2012 Batumi Koneru Humpy 2019 Moscow Koneru Humpy 2022 Almaty Savitha Shri Baskar 2023 Samarkand Koneru Humpy 2024 New York Koneru Humpy 2025 Doha Koneru Humpy
Blitz Medal Event Player 2022 Almaty Koneru Humpy 2024 New York Vaishali Rameshbabu
World Team Championship Open Medal Event Team Points 2010 Bursa Pentala HarikrishnaSurya Shekhar GangulySasikiran KrishnanGeetha Narayanan GopalSubramanian Arun PrasadAdhiban Baskaran 13
Medal Event Player Category 2010 Bursa Surya Shekhar Ganguly Board 3 Subramanian Arun Prasad Board 5 2017 Khanty-Mansiysk Vidit Gujrathi Board 1 Adhiban Baskaran Board 2 2019 Astana Adhiban Baskaran Board 1 Surya Shekhar Ganguly Board 3 2022 Jerusalem S. L. Narayanan Board 3
Women Medal Event Team Points 2021 Sitges Harika DronavalliVaishali RameshbabuTania SachdevBhakti KulkarniMary Ann Gomes 13
Medal Event Player Category 2009 Ningbo Eesha Karavade Board 3 2011 Mardin Koneru Humpy Best performance rating Koneru Humpy Board 1 Harika Dronavalli Board 2 2013 Astana Mary Ann Gomes Board 4 Soumya Swaminathan Board 5 2015 Chengdu Koneru Humpy Board 1 Harika Dronavalli Board 2 2017 Khanty-Mansiysk Eesha Karavade Board 3 2021 Sitges Harika Dronavalli Board 1 Mary Ann Gomes Board 5
Asian Team Championship Open