India’s chess community has a new reason to celebrate. Seventeen-year-old Aarav Dengla from Mumbai has become the country’s 93rd Grandmaster, joining the elite group of Indian players to achieve the highest title in chess. His achievement comes shortly after Delhi’s Aaryan Varshney earned the same title in January, highlighting the steady rise of young chess talents in the country.
How Aarav Dengla Became a Grandmaster
To become a Grandmaster, a player must meet strict requirements set by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Aarav completed all of them over the weekend.
He secured his third and final Grandmaster norm and crossed the crucial 2500 rating mark. His classical live rating climbed to 2506, which officially confirmed his Grandmaster title.
Aarav achieved this milestone by winning the GM Mix Bijeljina and the GM-norm Round Robin Tournament in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These strong international events helped him complete the final steps needed for the title.
Aarav’s Chess Journey
Aarav started playing chess when he was just five years old after being introduced to the game by his mother. A few weeks later, he was already playing in local tournaments, and before he turned six, he was already competing in longer-format tournament games.
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In an interview with Chess.com, Aarav Dengla stated that while chess had initially been a recreational activity, he then began taking it more seriously after starting to compete in FIDE-rated tournaments to attain a Grandmaster title.
Aarav earned his first GM norm in 2022 after participating in the 1st International GM Tournament in Bijeljina. He earned his second norm in 2025 during the Zupanja Celebrates Chess GM norm round-robin tournament in Croatia. With the attainment of his third and final GM norm, Aarav has now achieved the Grandmaster title.
Major Achievements
Apart from becoming a Grandmaster, Aarav Dengla has built an impressive list of achievements at a young age.
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In 2024, he won the Grand Paris Masters Championship. The tournament was held at Blanche de Castille High School near Paris and featured around 250 players. Aarav delivered a perfect performance, scoring seven out of seven points to win the title.
In the same year, he also clinched gold at the FIDE World Schools Rapid and Blitz Championships. These victories established him as one of the most promising young players in the country.
Education And Success
Aarav is a student of Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai. Balancing studies and competitive chess is not easy, especially at the international level. His success reflects discipline, hard work, and strong support from his family and coaches.
The last decade has witnessed an astonishing increase in chess activity within India. There are now many young people who have attained the title of Grandmaster and will lead India into the future of Chess. Aarav Dengla is one such example of this growth.
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