G.N. Gopal (born 29 March 1989) is an Indian Chess grandmaster from

Cochin, Kerala Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernakulam ...

. Gopal became Kerala's first grandmaster in 2007 at 18 and India's sixteenth grandmaster. He won the bronze medal in the prestigious 2010

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

in Guangzhou, China in November 2010. He also won the bronze medal in the World Team Championship held in Bursa, Turkey in January 2010.

Early life

Gopal was born into a Nair family in Muvattupuzha as the second son of Prof B. Narayana Pillai and Prof Geetha Prakasini. He has an elder brother, Gokul, who is a Computer Engineer. Gopal started chess at the age of 10. He was initiated into chess by his father. He won his first national championship in Chandigarh in 2001. He became the National Junior Champion (U-20) at the age of 15 in 2004. He won his first international championship in his first international exposure in 2003 in Dubai Juniors, Dubai.

Personal life

Gopal is working as an Assistant Manager at

Bharat Petroleum Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited is an Indian public sector oil and gas company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is India's second-largest government-owned downstream oil producer, whose operations are overseen by the Ministry of Petroleum and ...

. He lives in Aluva. Key achievements *Created history at the age of 18 by becoming Kerala's first & sixteenth Grand Master of the country. National events *Gold in National Junior (U-20) 2004 in Tirupathi (2004) *Silver in National Premier (Men's) Championship in Delhi (Dec 2010) *Tied for second spot in the National Premier (Men's) Championship in Chennai (2008) *Gold in National U-12 Rapid in Chandigarh (2001) *Silver in National Junior in Delhi (August 2006) Asian events *Bronze medal in the Asian Games 2010 held in Guangzhou, China (Nov 2010) *Silver in Asian Team Championship in China (May 2012) *Silver in Asian Zonals Dhaka 2007 *Silver in Asian Team Championship, Vizag, 2008 and Gold medal on board-4 for individual performance *Bronze for board performance in Asian Team Blitz Championship (May 2012) *Bronze in Asian Sub-Junior Championship, Teheran, 2004 *Qualified to the FIDE World Cup from the Asian Continental Championship in Philippines, 2007 Olympiads and World Team 2010 Olympiads: He has represented India in three successive Chess Olympiads namely Dresden 2008,Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 and Istanbul 2012 World Team Chess Championship 2010: His team India won bronze in the prestigious World Team 2010

Recognition

He received the prestigious Tigran Mets Medal during the

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan () is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater Alpine lake, high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of abov ...

2007 where he was the joint winner. "The Tigran Mets Medal" is a highly prestigious and very special honor of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gopal, Geetha Narayanan 1989 births Living people Chess Grandmasters Sportspeople from Kochi Asian Games bronze medalists in chess Chess players at the 2010 Asian Games 21st-century Indian chess players Asian Games bronze medalists for India Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games People from Muvattupuzha