Chess India
Chess India - General Awareness Capsule for Railway Exams
1. Historical Milestones
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1952 | First Indian Chess Championship held in Eluru (Andhra Pradesh) |
| 1961 | Manual Aaron becomes India’s first International Master (IM) |
| 1988 | Viswanathan Anand becomes India’s first Grandmaster (GM) |
| 1990 | Dibyendu Barua – 2nd Indian GM |
| 1997 | Viswanathan Anand wins Candidates, qualifies for World Championship match vs. Kasparov |
| 2000 | Anand wins FIDE World Chess Championship (Tehran) – 1st Asian & 1st Indian World Champion |
| 2007 | Anand becomes “Undisputed” World Champion (Mexico City) |
| 2012 | Five-time World Champion Anand (2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012) |
| 2013 | All-India Chess Federation (AICF) launches “Chess-in-Schools” programme |
| 2016 | India overtakes Russia in number of GMs (43 vs 42) for the first time |
| 2018 | Praggnanandhaa (12 yr) becomes 2nd-youngest GM ever |
| 2020 | India wins FIDE Online Chess Olympiad (joint gold with Russia) |
| 2022 | India hosts 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai – largest ever (188 teams) |
| 2023 | India tops FIDE rating list in U-20, U-18, U-16, U-14 categories simultaneously |
2. Grandmaster Statistics (as on 31 Dec 2023)
| Parameter | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total GMs in India | 84 |
| Youngest Indian GM | Gukesh D (12 yr 7 mo 17 d) – June 2019 |
| 1st Woman GM | Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (2001) |
| Woman GMs | 10 |
| State with most GMs | Tamil Nadu (28) |
| Average rating (Top-10 Indians) | 2683 Elo |
3. Chess Federation & Administrative Facts
- Parent body: All India Chess Federation (AICF) – founded 1951, HQ: New Delhi
- Current President (2023): Sanjay Kapoor
- Affiliation: FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) since 1928 (as part of British India; independent affiliation 1952)
- National Championship: 1st in 1955; Women’s Championship started 1974
- Official magazine: “Chess Mate”
4. Arjuna & Padma Awardees (Chess)
| Year | Player | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Manuel Aaron | Arjuna |
| 1985 | Viswanathan Anand | Arjuna |
| 1987 | Dibyendu Barua | Arjuna |
| 1990 | Anand | Padma Shri |
| 2000 | Anand | Padma Bhushan |
| 2007 | Anand | Padma Vibhushan |
| 2018 | Koneru Humpy | Padma Shri |
| 2019 | Harika Dronavalli | Padma Shri |
5. India’s Highest Rated Players (Live Dec-23)
| Rank | Player | Rating | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viswanathan Anand | 2754 | Tamil Nadu |
| 2 | Gukesh D | 2743 | Tamil Nadu |
| 3 | Arjun Erigaisi | 2742 | Telangana |
| 4 | Praggnanandhaa R | 2741 | Tamil Nadu |
| 5 | Vidit Gujrathi | 2727 | Maharashtra |
6. Women Power
- 1st Indian Woman IM: Bhagyashree Thipsay (1985)
- 1st Indian Woman GM: Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (2001)
- Youngest Woman GM: R Vaishali (2018) – Pragg’s elder sister
- Highest rated Indian woman: Koneru Humpy (2586)
- World Rapid Champion: Koneru Humpy (2019)
7. One-liner Revision Bullets
- Viswanathan Anand nicknamed “Tiger of Madras”.
- Chennai dubbed “Chess Capital of India”.
- India’s 1st GM norm made by Pravin Thipsay (1987) but Anand crossed 2500 first.
- Nihal Sarin (2018) – youngest Indian to cross 2600 Elo (14 yr 10 mo).
- FIDE HQ: Lausanne, Switzerland; founded 1924.
- Chess Olympiad mascot 2022: “Thambi” (spectacled knight).
- India’s 1st Chess Olympiad medal: Bronze (1980, Malta).
- Best team finish: 2nd (2014, Tromsø).
- 2022 Chennai Olympiad: India A team (Gukesh, Arjun, Vidit, Pragg, Erigaisi) won team gold Open section.
- India also host of 2023 World Junior (Calicut) & 2024 World Rapid/Blitz (Kolkata).
Quick-Reference Tables
Table 1: Chronology of Indian Grandmasters
| S.No. | Player | Year | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viswanathan Anand | 1988 | 18 yr 11 mo |
| 2 | Dibyendu Barua | 1991 | 24 yr |
| 3 | Pravin Thipsay | 1997 | 38 yr |
| 4 | Abhijit Kunte | 2000 | 23 yr |
| 5 | Krishnan Sasikiran | 2000 | 19 yr |
| 10 | Pentala Harikrishna | 2001 | 15 yr 3 mo |
| 20 | Parimarjan Negi | 2006 | 13 yr 4 mo (then-world 2nd youngest) |
| 84 | Gukesh D | 2019 | 12 yr 7 mo |
Table 2: World Championship Contenders
| Player | Year | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anand | 1995 | Kasparov | Lost 10½–7½ |
| Anand | 1998 | Karpov | Lost rapid playoff |
| Anand | 2000 | Shirov | Won (FIDE) |
| Anand | 2007 | Tournament | Won |
| Anand | 2008 | Kramnik | Won 6½–4½ |
| Anand | 2010 | Topalov | Won 6½–5½ |
| Anand | 2012 | Gelfand | Won rapid tiebreak |
| Anand | 2013 | Carlsen | Lost 6½–3½ |
| Anand | 2014 | Carlsen | Lost 6½–4½ |
15+ Objective Questions (MCQ)
Click to view MCQs with answers
Q1. Who was the first Indian Grandmaster?
A. Manuel Aaron
B. Viswanathan Anand
C. Dibyendu Barua
D. Pravin Thipsay
Ans: B. Viswanathan Anand (1988)
Q2. India won its first ever Chess Olympiad medal in which year?
A. 1974
B. 1980
C. 1986
D. 1992
Ans: B. 1980 (Bronze, Malta)
Q3. The 44th Chess Olympiad 2022 was hosted by which Indian city?
A. New Delhi
B. Kolkata
C. Chennai
D. Mumbai
Ans: C. Chennai
Q4. Who among the following is the youngest Indian to become a GM?
A. Praggnanandhaa
B. Nihal Sarin
C. Gukesh D
D. Arjun Erigaisi
Ans: C. Gukesh D (12 yr 7 mo)
Q5. The first Indian woman to earn the GM title is:
A. Koneru Humpy
B. Harika Dronavalli
C. Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi
D. R Vaishali
Ans: C. Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (2001)
Q6. Viswanathan Anand won his maiden (undisputed) World Championship in:
A. 1995
B. 2000
C. 2007
D. 2008
Ans: C. 2007 (Mexico City tournament)
Q7. All India Chess Federation was established in:
A. 1947
B. 1951
C. 1955
D. 1960
Ans: B. 1951
Q8. India jointly won FIDE Online Chess Olympiad 2020 with which country?
A. China
B. USA
C. Russia
D. Azerbaijan
Ans: C. Russia (declared joint winners due to server failure)
Q9. Which state has produced the maximum number of GMs in India?
A. Maharashtra
B. West Bengal
C. Tamil Nadu
D. Telangana
Ans: C. Tamil Nadu (28 GMs)
Q10. The mascot of 44th Chess Olympiad was:
A. Veera
B. Thambi
C. Veeru
D. Shakti
Ans: B. Thambi
Q11. Who was the first Indian to receive the Arjuna Award for Chess?
A. Viswanathan Anand
B. Manuel Aaron
C. Dibyendu Barua
D. Pravin Thipsay
Ans: B. Manuel Aaron (1961)
Q12. Koneru Humpy won World Rapid Championship in:
A. 2017
B. 2018
C. 2019
D. 2020
Ans: C. 2019 (Moscow)
Q13. FIDE headquarters is located at:
A. Zurich
B. Geneva
C. Lausanne
D. Paris
Ans: C. Lausanne, Switzerland
Q14. India crossed Russia in number of GMs for the first time in:
A. 2014
B. 2016
C. 2018
D. 2020
Ans: B. 2016
Q15. The official magazine of AICF is:
A. Chess Base
B. Chess Mate
C. Chess Express
D. Indian Chess
Ans: B. Chess Mate
Q16. Which Indian GM became the 2nd youngest in world history (2006)?
A. Parimarjan Negi
B. Praggnanandhaa
C. Gukesh D
D. Nihal Sarin
Ans: A. Parimarjan Negi (13 yr 4 mo)
Q17. India’s best team finish in Chess Olympiad (Open) before 2022 was:
A. Gold
B. Silver
C. Bronze
D. 4th
Ans: B. Silver (2014 Tromsø)
Q18. Chess-in-Schools programme was launched by AICF in:
A. 2008
B. 2010
C. 2013
D. 2015
Ans: C. 2013
Last-minute cram:
Anand-1988-GM, Gukesh-youngest, Chennai-2022-Olympiad, Humpy-rapid queen, Tamil Nadu-GM factory!
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