View source for Geetha Narayanan Gopal

{{Short description|Indian chess grandmaster (born 1989)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
<!---->
{{Infobox chess player
| name                = Geetha Narayanan Gopal
| image               = Gopal G N 2011.jpg
| caption             = Gopal in 2011
| birthname           = Geetha Narayanan Gopal
| country             = India
| birth_date          = {{birth-date and age|29 March 1989}}
| birth_place         = [[Muvattupuzha, Kerala]], India
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| title               = [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]]
| worldchampion       = 
| womensworldchampion = 
| peakrating          = 2611 (July 2010)
| FideID              = 5015693
| show-medals         = yes
| medaltemplates      = 
{{MedalCountry|{{IND}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Asian Games]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[2010 Asian Games|2010 Guangzhou]]|[[Chess at the 2010 Asian Games|Men's Team]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[World Team]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[2010 World Team|2010 Bursa]]|[[Chess at the 2010 World Team|Men's Team]]}}
}}

'''G.N. Gopal''' (born 29 March 1989) is an Indian Chess [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grand Master]] from [[Cochin, Kerala]].  Gopal became Kerala's first Grand Master in 2007 at the age of 18 and the sixteenth Grand Master of the country.

Like World Champion Viswanathan Anand's phenomena in the country, Gopal effect has popularized chess in Kerala.

He won the bronze medal in the  prestigious 2010 [[Asian Games]] in Guangzhou, China in November 2010. 
He also won the bronze medal in the [[World Team Chess Championship|World Team Championship]] held in Bursa, Turkey in January 2010.

==Early life==
Gopal was born in 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 to 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 Assistant Manager in [[Bharat Petroleum]]. 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]] 2007''' where he was the joint winner. "The Tigran Mets Medal" is a highly prestigious and very special honor of the [[Republic of Armenia]].

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Geetha Narayanan Gopal}}
* {{chessgames player|id=97896}}

{{Indian grandmasters}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopal, Geetha Narayanan}}
[[Category:1989 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Chess grandmasters]]
[[Category:Indian chess players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Kochi]]
[[Category:Asian Games medalists in chess]]
[[Category:Chess players at the 2010 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Asian Games bronze medalists for India]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games]]
[[Category:People from Muvattupuzha]]