Aravindh Chithambaram Veerappan (born 11 September 1999) is an Indian

chess grandmaster Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally the t ...

. He won the Indian chess championships twice, in 2018 and 2019.

Personal life

Aravindh Chithambaram Veerappan was born on 11 September 1999 in Thirunagar, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. His father died when he was three and his mother worked as a

Life Insurance Corporation The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian public sector life insurance company headquartered in Mumbai. It is India's largest insurance company as well as the largest institutional investor with total assets under management wo ...

agent to support the family. He learned to play chess at the age of seven from his paternal grandfather, who introduced him to the game in an attempt to quell his desires to constantly leave the house and play

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

with other boys.

Chess career

Aravindh won the Indian U19 Chess Championship at the age of 12. He competed in the World U14 Chess Championship in 2012, placing second to Kayden Troff. He won his first major tournament in 2013 when he scored 9/11 for a of 2728 at the Chennai Grandmaster International Open, defeating four grandmasters and two

international master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

s in the process. This result earned him his first grandmaster

norm Norm, the Norm or NORM may refer to: In academic disciplines * Normativity, phenomenon of designating things as good or bad * Norm (geology), an estimate of the idealised mineral content of a rock * Norm (philosophy), a standard in normative e ...

; at the time he had not achieved any of his international master norms. He earned his international master title in 2014 and his grandmaster title in 2015. In 2024, Aravindh won the Chennai Grand Masters tournament on blitz tie-breaks (2-0) against former World Rapid and Blitz Champion

Levon Aronian Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...

. His overall tournament win was possible after a crucial win in Round 6 of the event against Grandmaster

Arjun Erigaisi Arjun Kumar Erigaisi (born 3 September 2003) is an Indian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 13 days. In September 2024 he became India's top rated player, and in December 2 ...

. In March 2025, Aravindh won the 2025 Prague Chess Festival Masters by a full point. He went undefeated and scored 6/9 in the event, winning 3 games. In June 2025, Aravindh won the Stepan Avagyan Memorial on Sonneborn-Berger tiebreak against

R Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (born 10 August 2005) is an Indian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, Praggnanandhaa placed second in the 2023 Chess World Cup, and is the only Indian to win the Tata Steel Chess Tournament after Viswanathan Anand. H ...

. He went undefeated and scored 6.5/9 in the event winning 4 games.

Esports Career

In April 2025, Aravindh became one of the first Indian chess grandmasters to be signed by an esports organization, joining S8UL Esports, a leading Indian esports entity. Along with fellow grandmaster

Nihal Sarin Nihal Sarin (born 13 July 2004) is an Indian chess grandmaster and chess prodigy. In 2018, he passed the Elo rating of 2600 at 14 years old, which at the time made him the third youngest player in history to do so. As a junior player, Nihal ...

, he was selected to represent India in the Esports World Cup 2025, scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This marked a historic moment for Indian chess, as it was the 1st time competitive chess was included as a discipline in an international esports event. Aravindh expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity, noting the significance of esports in elevating the global profile of chess and providing new platforms for players to showcase their talent.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chithambaram, Aravindh 1999 births Living people Indian chess players Chess Grandmasters Sportspeople from Madurai