 "Aravindh Chithambaram had become the first Indian player to be crowned national champion in all three formats in 2019. Image credit: David Llada/Sunway Chess Festival")
Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram announced himself as the latest Indian chess superstar in the making on Friday after winning the Masters Section of the Prague International Chess Festival . What was impressive about Aravindh’s victory in the Czech capital was the fact that he finished unbeaten in the nine-round event.
He also finished ahead of a stacked field comprising world No 8 R Praggnanandhaa, Freestyle Chess Weissenhaus winner Vincent Keymer, Netherlands’ Anish Giri and Chinese GM Wei Yi, among others.
His triumph in the Prague Masters event, however, isn’t the only time he won an event ahead of established stars. The 25-year-old had won the Chennai Grand Masters tournament in November ahead of world No 5 Arjun Erigaisi – who was a solid favourite for the tournament – as well as Levon Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vidit Gujrathi.
Who is Aravindh Chithambaram, India’s latest chess star?
Aravindh was born on 11 September 1999 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and was raised by his mother, a Life Insurance Corporation agent, after tragically losing his father at the age of three. While he initially took an interest in cricket, it was his grandfather who inspired him to take up chess at the age of seven.
“After my grandpa taught me some basic rules, one of my relatives asked me to play a tournament in Madurai. So, I just gave it a try,” Aravindh told ChessBase India.
After spending the initial years of his childhood in Madurai, Aravindh would later move to Chennai – widely considered the informal chess capital of the nation – upon the advice of GM RB Ramesh, his coach who has also trained Praggnanandhaa and his sister R Vaishali.
After moving to Chennai, he would enroll at the Velammal Higher Secondary School, which counts world champion D Gukesh among its alumni.
As for his feats on a chess board, Aravindh began to exhibit signs of a future star at an early age by winning the Indian U-19 Chess Championship at the age of 12. He was also the standout performer in the Chennai Open in 2013, where he was playing as a FIDE Master at the time and ended up defeating four Grandmasters as well as two International Masters en route to the title.
The triumph earned him his first Grandmaster norm; he would attain his International Master title in 2014 before becoming a GM the following year.
Four years later, Aravindh would made waves across the Indian chess community by becoming the national champion in all three formats – Classical, Rapid and Blitz. It was the first time that an Indian player was crowned national champion across formats.
More recently, Aravind had breached the 2700 FIDE rating for the first time in November 2024, around the time he won the Chennai Grand Masters event.
As per FIDE ranking, Aravind is currently ranked 22nd in the world and fifth in India, with an Elo rating of 2731. However, after winning the Prague Chess Festival, his live rating has shot up to 2743, and his live ranking is 14th.
With his triumph in Prague, Aravindh has forced the chess world to sit up and take notice, giving them a hint at even bigger things to come.