World Chess Day 2025: History of Chess in India, India’s Chess Legends, Rising Indian Chess Stars and Impact of Indian Players on Global Chess

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Last Updated:July 20, 2025, 11:47 IST

World Chess Day celebrates chess as a global game that transcends borders, religion, languages and cultures.

World Chess Day was first proposed by UNESCO before it was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2019

World Chess Day marks the foundation of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Paris in 1924. The day was first proposed by UNESCO before it was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2019. The day celebrates chess as a global game that transcends borders, religion, languages and cultures.

Players, clubs and chess enthusiasts around the globe commemorate the day by organising tournaments, exhibitions and educational events about chess as not just a sport but also as a tool for intellectual development and peace.

History of Chess in India

It is widely believed that chess evolved from ‘Chaturanga’, which was a strategic board game played during the Gupta Empire around the 6th century CE. The Chaturanga later spread to Persia, where it was played as Shatranj. It then spread across Islamic and European countries and eventually became modern chess. However, references to similar games also appear in Indian epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

India’s Chess Legends

Viswanathan Anand	5-time World Chess Champion, India’s first Grandmaster, former World No. 1
Koneru Humpy	Women’s World Rapid Champion, second Indian woman Grandmaster, Arjuna & Padma Shri awardee
Pentala Harikrishna	Former World Junior Champion, crossed 2700 Elo rating, Olympiad Bronze
Dronavalli Harika	3-time World Women’s Championship semifinalist, Arjuna awardee, Olympiad team medalist

Rising Indian Chess Stars

R Praggnanandhaa	Youngest Indian to beat Magnus Carlsen (2022), World Cup Finalist (2023)
Gukesh Dommaraju	Won gold at the 2024 Budapest Chess Olympiad, Youngest player to cross 2750 Elo rating (2023), Qualified for 2024 Candidates
Arjun Erigaisi	Rapid Chess Gold at Asian Games (2022), Crossed 2700 Elo at age 18
Nihal Sarin	World U10 Champion (2014), Rapid & Blitz specialist, Part of Olympiad Bronze team (2022)
Raunak Sadhwani	Became Grandmaster at 13, part of India’s Olympiad Bronze-winning team (2022)

Impact of Indian Players on Global Chess

Indian chess players won the double gold (men’s and women’s) at the 2024 Budapest Chess Olympiad. Prodigious talents of Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R and Arjun Erigaisi in the open team and Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli in the women’s team made the country proud. Gukesh, only aged 18, reflected the rise of youth Indian players in chess.

India leads the junior rankings with 21 boys and 10 girls in the world’s top 100 players. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen praised Indian grandmasters Dommaraju Gukesh, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, and Arjun Erigaisi on the sidelines of the Norway Chess 2025.

Among the prominent stars, the legendary Viswanathan Anand continues to inspire players from all over the globe with his meticulous planning and preparation strategies studied by other elite-level players. India hosted the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai (2022), reflecting the growing influence of Indian chess in the world as the All India Chess Federation (AICF) also expands the sport’s wings across the country and identifies wonderful talents at an early age.

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