Kkasthana at 22:13, 9 January 2026

2026-01-09T22:13:49Z

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{{Short description|Annual national chess championship of India}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}}
{{Infobox award
| name = National Chess Championship in Open and Women categories
| image = {{Photomontage
| photo1a = P Iniyan at 2017 Andorra open.jpg
| alt1a = P. Iniyan
| photo1b = P. V. Nandhidhaa with her Chess tournament trophies.jpg
| alt1b = P. V. Nandhidhaa
| spacing = 2
| position = centre
| size = 230
| border = 0
| color = #FFFFFF
| foot_montage =
}}
| caption = The 2025 recipients: [[P. Iniyan]] and [[P. V. Nandhidhaa]]
| awarded_for = Best National Chess player
| sponsor = [[All India Chess Federation]]
| firstawarded = 1955 (Open), 1974 (Women)
| lastawarded = 2025
| reward = {{ubl|Winner's trophy|{{INR|7,00,000}}}}
| holder_label = Most recent winner
| holder = {{ubl|[[P. Iniyan]] in ''Open''|[[P. V. Nandhidhaa]] in ''Women''}}
| most_wins = [[Manuel Aaron]] (9) in ''Open'', [[Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi]] (6) in ''Women''
| award1_type = First winner
| award1_winner = [[Ramchandra Sapre]] in ''Open'', [[Vasanti Khadilkar]] in ''Women''
}}
The '''National Premier Chess Championship''' is the annual national [[chess]] championship of India. It was established in 1955 by the Andhra State Chess Association as a biannual event, but since 1971 it has been played yearly.

The first edition was held in [[Eluru]], [[Andhra Pradesh]] from 15 May to 28 May 1955 and was jointly won by [[Ramchandra Sapre]] and Dharbha Venkayya with 9/12 points.<ref>''[[The Hindu]]'', June 6, 1955 </ref> Earlier, G. S. Dikshit of [[Pithapuram]] won the Andhra and Madras State Championships for three consecutive years, 1952–54.<ref>''[[British Chess Magazine]]'', July 1955, p. 213</ref> [[Manuel Aaron]] from the state of [[Tamilnadu]] won the Men's National title for a record 9 times, followed by [[Praveen Thipsay]] who won the title for 7 times. [[Surya Shekhar Ganguly]] had won a record six consecutive National titles from 2003 to 2008. Indian Chess legend [[Viswanathan Anand]] won the Nationals title for three consecutive times in 1986, 1987 and 1988. [[P. Iniyan]] is the reigning Nationals Men Champion in 2025.

In 1977, [[Rohini Khadilkar]] became the first female player to compete in that championship. Some players objected to her being in the tournament because she was female. Her father wrote to the [[FIDE|World Chess Federation]] president, [[Max Euwe]], and Euwe ruled that female players could not be barred from open chess events.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Gender trenders: How India's women chess pioneers fought a patriarchal system and won | url=https://www.espn.com/chess/story/_/id/30265331/gender-trenders-queens-gambit-how-india-women-chess-pioneers-fought-patriarchal-system-won | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118095131/https://www.espn.com/chess/story/_/id/30265331/gender-trenders-queens-gambit-how-india-women-chess-pioneers-fought-patriarchal-system-won | archive-date=2020-11-18 | access-date=2026-01-09}}</ref>

The separate women's championship commenced in 1974. The first ten editions were dominated by the Khadilkar sisters [[Vasanti Khadilkar|Vasanti]], [[Jayshree Khadilkar|Jayshree]] and [[Rohini Khadilkar|Rohini]]. Rohini is the youngest and won the championship five times, Jayshree won four titles, and the eldest, Vasanti, won the championship in the inaugural year. [[Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi]] won the title for a record 6 times, followed by [[Rohini Khadilkar]] and [[Padmini Rout]] who have each won the National Women title for a record 5 times. [[P. V. Nandhidhaa]] is the reigning Nationals Women Champion in 2025.<ref>https://www.chessbase.in/news/Indian-Oil-51st-National-Women-Chess-Championship-2025-Round-11-report</ref>

As on 2025, the Nationals title winner receives INR 7,00,000 Cash prize followed by INR 5,50,000 and INR 4,50,000 for second and third positions respectively. Championship winners from both men and women events are selected for the [[Chess World Cup 2027]] and [[Women's Chess World Cup 2027]] respectively.

==Winners- Men Champion==

:{| class="sortable wikitable"
! Edition !! Year !! City !! Men's winner
|-
| 1 || 1955 || [[Eluru]] || {{sort|Sapre, R.B.|[[Ramchandra Sapre]]}} <br> {{sort|Venkayya, D.|[[Dharbha Venkayya]]}}
|-
| 2 || 1957 || [[Pune]] || {{sort|Gupta, Ramdas|[[Ramdas Gupta]]}}
|-
| 3 || 1959 || [[Delhi]] || {{sort|Aaron, Manuel|[[Manuel Aaron]]}}
|-
| 4 || 1961 || [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]] || {{sort|Aaron, Manuel|[[Manuel Aaron]]}}
|-
| 5 || 1963 || [[Bombay]] || {{sort|Ali, Farooq|[[Farooq Ali]]}}
|-
| 6 || 1966 || [[Madras]] || {{sort|Madon, Rusi|[[Rusi Madon]]}}
|-
| 7 || 1967 || [[Pune]] || {{sort|Nasir Ali, Syed|[[Syed Nasir Ali]]}}
|-
| 8 || 1969 || [[Bangalore]] || {{sort|Aaron, Manuel|[[Manuel Aaron]]}}
|-
| 9 || 1971 || [[Bikaner]] || {{sort|Aaron, Manuel|[[Manuel Aaron]]}}
|-
| 10 || 1972 || [[Shimla|Simla]] || {{sort|Aaron, Manuel|[[Manuel Aaron]]}}
|-
| 11 || 1973 || [[Ahmedabad]] || {{sort|Aaron, Manuel|[[Manuel Aaron]]}}
|-
| 12 || 1975 || [[Rourkela]] || {{sort|Aaron, Manuel|[[Manuel Aaron]]}}
|-
| 13 || 1976 || [[Patna]] || {{sort|Sekhar, Ravi|[[Raja Ravi Sekhar]]}}
|-
| 14 || 1976 || [[Calcutta]] || {{sort|Aaron, Manuel|[[Manuel Aaron]]}}
|-
| 15 || 1978 || [[Cochin]] || {{sort|Khan, Rafiq|[[Rafiq Khan]]}}
|-
| 16 || 1979 || [[Tiruchi]] || {{sort|Parameswaran, T. N.|[[T. N. Parameswaran]]}}
|-
| 17 || 1979 || [[Vijayawada]] || {{sort|Sekhar, Ravi|[[Raja Ravi Sekhar]]}}
|-
| 18 || 1981 || [[New Delhi]] || {{sort|Aaron, Manuel|[[Manuel Aaron]]}}
|-
| 19 || 1982 || [[Kanpur]] || {{sort|Thipsay, Praveen|[[Praveen Thipsay]]}}
|-
| 20 || 1983 || [[Agartala]] || {{sort|Barua, Dibyendu|[[Dibyendu Barua]]}}
|-
| 21 || 1984 || [[Ahmedabad]] || {{sort|Thipsay, Praveen|[[Praveen Thipsay]]}}
|-
| 22 || 1985 || [[Tenali]] || {{sort|Thipsay, Praveen|[[Praveen Thipsay]]}}
|-
| 23 || 1986 || [[Bombay]] || {{sort|Anand, Viswanathan|[[Viswanathan Anand]]}}
|-
| 24 || 1987 || [[Tumkur]] || {{sort|Anand, Viswanathan|[[Viswanathan Anand]]}}
|-
| 25 || 1988 || [[Neyveli]] || {{sort|Anand, Viswanathan|[[Viswanathan Anand]]}}
|-
| 26 || 1989 || [[Bikaner]] || {{sort|Thipsay, Praveen|[[Praveen Thipsay]]}}
|-
| 27 || 1990 || [[Kozhikode]] || {{sort|Prasad, Devaki V.|[[Devaki Prasad|D. V. Prasad]]}}
|-
| 28 || 1991 || [[Pondicherry (city)|Pondicherry]] || {{sort|Prasad, Devaki V.|[[Devaki Prasad|D. V. Prasad]]}}
|-
| 29 || 1992 || [[Patna]] || {{sort|Thipsay, Praveen|[[Praveen Thipsay]]}}
|-
| 30 || 1993 || [[Pune]] || {{sort|Thipsay, Praveen|[[Praveen Thipsay]]}}
|-
| 31 || 1994 || [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]] || {{sort|Thipsay, Praveen|[[Praveen Thipsay]]}}
|-
| 32 || 1995 || [[Madras]] || {{sort|Konguvel, Ponnuswamy|[[Ponnuswamy Konguvel]]}}
|-
| 33 || 1996 || [[Kanhangad]] || {{sort|Parameswaran, T. N.|[[T. N. Parameswaran]]}}
|-
| 34 || 1997 || [[Bhilai]] || {{sort|Kunte, Abhijit|[[Abhijit Kunte]]}}
|-
| 35 || 1998 || [[Muzaffarpur]] || {{sort|Barua, Dibyendu|[[Dibyendu Barua]]}}
|-
| 36 || 1999 || [[Nagpur]] || {{sort|Sasikiran, Krishnan|[[Krishnan Sasikiran]]}}
|-
| 37 || 2000 || [[Mumbai]] || {{sort|Kunte, Abhijit|[[Abhijit Kunte]]}}
|-
| 38 || 2001 || [[Delhi]] || {{sort|Barua, Dibyendu|[[Dibyendu Barua]]}}
|-
| 39 || 2002 || [[Nagpur]] || {{sort|Sasikiran, Krishnan|[[Krishnan Sasikiran]]}}
|-
| 40 || 2003 || [[Mumbai]] || {{sort|Sasikiran, Krishnan|[[Krishnan Sasikiran]]}}
|-
| 41 || 2003 || [[Kozhikode]] || {{sort|Ganguly, Surya|[[Surya Shekhar Ganguly]]}}
|-
| 42 || 2004 || [[Visakhapatnam]] || {{sort|Ganguly, Surya|[[Surya Shekhar Ganguly]]}}
|-
| 43 || 2006 || [[Visakhapatnam]] || {{sort|Ganguly, Surya|[[Surya Shekhar Ganguly]]}}
|-
| 44 || 2007 ||[[Atul, Gujarat|Atul]]|| {{sort|Ganguly, Surya|[[Surya Shekhar Ganguly]]}}
|-
| 45 || 2008 || [[Chennai]] || {{sort|Ganguly, Surya|[[Surya Shekhar Ganguly]]}}
|-
| 46 || 2008 || [[Mangalore]] || {{sort|Ganguly, Surya|[[Surya Shekhar Ganguly]]}}<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/top-stories/Ganguly-wins-sixth-successive-National-A-chess-title/articleshow/3913493.cms Ganguly wins sixth successive National 'A' chess title] The Times of India</ref><ref>[https://ratings.fide.com/tournament_report.phtml?event16=17934&t=0 46th National A Chess Championship, India. Tournament report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208085052/https://ratings.fide.com/tournament_report.phtml?event16=17934&t=0 |date=2024-12-08 }} FIDE</ref>
|-
| 47 || 2009 || [[New Delhi]] || {{sort|Adhiban, Baskaran|[[Baskaran Adhiban]]}}
|-
| 48 || 2010 || [[New Delhi]] || {{sort|Negi, Parimarjan|[[Parimarjan Negi]]}}
|-
| 49 || 2011 || [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]] || {{sort|Gupta, Abhijeet|[[Abhijeet Gupta]]}}
|-
| 50 || 2012 || [[Kolkata]] || {{sort|Akash, G|[[G. Akash]]}}
|-
| 51 || 2013 || [[Jalgaon]] || {{sort|Sasikiran, Krishnan|[[Krishnan Sasikiran]]}}
|-
| 52 || 2014 || [[Kottayam]] || {{sort|Sethuraman, S. P.|[[S. P. Sethuraman]]}}
|-
| 53 || 2015 || [[Tiruvarur]] || {{sort|Murali, Karthikeyan|[[Karthikeyan Murali]]}}
|-
| 54 || 2016 || [[Lucknow]] || {{sort|Murali, Karthikeyan|[[Karthikeyan Murali ]]}}
|-
| 55 || 2017 || [[Patna]] || {{sort|Lalith, Babu|[[Babu M.R. Lalith]]}}
|-
| 56 || 2018 || [[Jammu]] || {{sort|Chithambaram, Aravindh|[[Aravindh Chithambaram]]}}
|-
| 57 || 2019 || [[Majitar]] || {{sort|Chithambaram, Aravindh |[[Aravindh Chithambaram]]}}
|-
| 58 || 2022 || [[Kanpur]] || {{sort|Erigaisi, Arjun|[[Arjun Erigaisi]]}}
|-
| 59 || 2022-23 || [[New Delhi]] || {{sort|Venkataraman, Karthik|[[Karthik Venkataraman]]}}
|-
| 60 || 2023 || [[Pune]] || {{sort|Sethuraman, S. P.|[[S. P. Sethuraman]]}}
|-
| 61 || 2024 || [[Gurgaon]] || {{sort|Venkataraman, Karthik|[[Karthik Venkataraman]]}}
|-
| 62 || 2025 || [[Guntur]] || {{sort|Iniyan, P.|[[P. Iniyan]]}}
|}

==Winners- Women Champions==

:{| class="sortable wikitable"
! Edition !! Year !! City !! Women's winner
|-
| 1 || 1974 || [[Bangalore]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Vasanti|[[Vasanti Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 2 || 1975 || [[Calcutta]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Jayshree|[[Jayshree Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 3 || 1976 || [[Kottayam]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Rohini|[[Rohini Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 4 || 1977 || [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Rohini|[[Rohini Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 5 || 1979 || [[Chennai]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Rohini|[[Rohini Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 6 || 1979 || [[Sangli]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Jayshree|[[Jayshree Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 7 || 1981 || [[New Delhi]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Rohini|[[Rohini Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 8 || 1982 || [[Rajnandgaon]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Jayshree|[[Jayshree Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 9 || 1983 || [[Bikaner]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Jayshree|[[Jayshree Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 10 || 1983 || [[Kottayam]] || {{sort|Khadilkar, Rohini|[[Rohini Khadilkar]]}}
|-
| 11 || 1985 || [[Nagpur]] || {{sort|Sathe, Bhagyashree|[[Bhagyashree Sathe]]}}
|-
| 12 || 1986 || [[Jalandhar]] || {{sort|Sathe, Bhagyashree|[[Bhagyashree Sathe]]}}
|-
| 13 || 1987 || [[Calcutta]] || {{sort|Reddy, Saritha|[[Murali Reddy Saritha|Saritha Reddy]]}}
|-
| 14 || 1988 || [[Kurukshetra]] || {{sort|Sathe, Bhagyashree|[[Bhagyashree Sathe]]}}
|-
| 15 || 1989 || [[Durg]] || {{sort|Abhyankar, Anupama|[[Anupama Abhyankar]]}}
|-
| 16 || 1990 || [[Vijaywada]] || {{sort|Abhyankar, Anupama|[[Anupama Abhyankar]]}}
|-
| 17 || 1991 || [[Kozhikode]] || {{sort|Thipsay, Bhagyashree|[[Bhagyashree Thipsay]]}}
|-
| 18 || 1991 || [[Mumbai]] || {{sort|Gokhale, Anupama|[[Anupama Gokhale]]}}
|-
| 19 || 1993 || [[Kozhikode]] || {{sort|Gokhale, Anupama|[[Anupama Gokhale]]}}
|-
| 20 || 1994 || [[Bangalore]] || {{sort|Thipsay, Bhagyashree|[[Bhagyashree Thipsay]]}}
|-
| 21 || 1995 || [[Chennai]] || {{sort|Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman|[[Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi]]}}
|-
| 22 || 1996 || [[Salem, Tamil Nadu|Salem]] || {{sort|Kunte, Mrunalini|[[Mrunalini Kunte]]}}
|-
| 23 || 1997 || [[Calcutta]] || {{sort|Gokhale, Anupama|[[Anupama Gokhale]]}}
|-
| 24 || 1998 || [[Mumbai]] || {{sort|Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman|[[Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi]]}}
|-
| 25 || 1999 || [[Kozhikode]] || {{sort|Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman|[[Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi]]}}
|-
| 26 || 2000 || [[Mumbai]] || {{sort|Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman|[[Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi]]}}
|-
| 27 || 2001 || [[New Delhi]] || {{sort|Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman|[[Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi]]}}
|-
| 28 || 2002 || [[Lucknow]] || {{sort|Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman|[[Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi]]}}
|-
| 29 || 2003 || [[Mumbai]] || {{sort|Ramaswamy, Arthie|[[Aarthie Ramaswamy]]}}
|-
| 30 || 2003 || [[Kozhikode]] || {{sort|Koneru, Humpy|[[Humpy Koneru]]}}
|-
| 31 || 2005 || [[Bangalore]] || {{sort|Mohota, Nisha|[[Nisha Mohota]]}}
|-
| 32 || 2006 || [[Vizag]] || {{sort|Ghate, Swati|[[Swati Ghate]]}}
|-
| 33 || 2006 || [[Chennai]] || {{sort|Sachdev, Tania|[[Tania Sachdev]]}}
|-
| 34 || 2007 || [[Pune]] || {{sort|Sachdev, Tania|[[Tania Sachdev]]}}
|-
| 35 || 2008 || [[New Delhi]] || {{sort|Kruttika Nadig}}
|-
| 36 || 2009 || [[Chennai]] || {{sort|Dronavalli, Harika|[[Harika Dronavalli]]}}
|-
| 37 || 2010 || [[Bhubaneswar]] || {{sort|Soumya Swaminathan|[[Soumya Swaminathan (chess player)|Soumya Swaminathan]]}}
|-
| 38 || 2011 || [[Chennai]] || {{sort|Mary Ann Gomes}}
|-
| 39 || 2012 || [[Jalgaon]] || {{sort|Mary Ann Gomes}}
|-
| 40 || 2013 || [[Kolkata]] || {{sort|Mary Ann Gomes}}
|-
| 41 || 2014 || [[Sangli]] || {{sort|Rout, Padmini|[[Padmini Rout]]}}
|-
| 42 || 2015 || [[Kolkata]] || {{sort|Rout, Padmini|[[Padmini Rout]]}}
|-
| 43 || 2016 || [[New Delhi]] || {{sort|Rout, Padmini|[[Padmini Rout]]}}
|-
| 44 || 2017 || [[Surat]]|| {{sort|Rout, Padmini|[[Padmini Rout]]}}
|-
| 45 || 2018 || [[Jaipur]] || {{sort|Kulkarni, Bhakti|[[Bhakti Kulkarni]]}}
|-
| 46 || 2019 || [[Karaikudi]] || {{sort|Kulkarni, Bhakti|[[Bhakti Kulkarni]]}}
|-
| 47 || 2022 || [[Bhubaneswar]] || {{sort|Deshmukh, Divya|[[Divya Deshmukh]]}}
|-
| 48 || 2022-23 || [[Kolhapur]] || {{sort|Deshmukh, Divya|[[Divya Deshmukh]]}}
|-
| 49 || 2023 || [[New Delhi]]||{{sort|Rout, Padmini|[[Padmini Rout]]}}
|-
| 50 || 2024 || [[Karaikudi]]||{{sort|P. V. Nandhidhaa|[[P. V. Nandhidhaa]]}}
|-
| 51 || 2025 || [[Durgapur]]||{{sort|P. V. Nandhidhaa|[[P. V. Nandhidhaa]]}}
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">

File:NATIONAL WOMEN CHESS CHAMPIONS.jpg|Multiple National Women Chess Championship winners over the years, clicked during the closing ceremony of the 50th National Women Chess Championship- 2024. Left to Right- [[Nisha Mohota]], [[Swati Ghate]], [[Padmini Rout]], [[P. V. Nandhidhaa]], [[Mary Ann Gomes]] and [[Bhakti Kulkarni]]

</gallery>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [http://www.ajedrezdeataque.com/05%20Palmares/Campeonatos/Nacionales/Asia/La_India.htm List of winners 1955-2006]
* [http://www.sportsbharti.com/Chess/Chess-National%20A%20Championship(wm).htm List of women's winners 1974-2006]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* D.K. Bharadwaj (2003), A big boom in the brain game; [http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2003/fmay2003/f130520031.html A history of chess in India]
* The Hindu news [https://web.archive.org/web/20040117075839/http://www.hindu.com/2003/12/21/stories/2003122103051600.htm 41st edition]
* The Hindu news {{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20050112162548/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/007200412181801.htm 42nd edition]}}
* Chessbase report of the [http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3059 43rd edition]
* Chessbase report of the [http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3590 44th edition]
* TWIC news [https://theweekinchess.com/html/twic680.html#8 34th Women's edition]
* The Hindu Dated June 6, 1952 (Article Chess Notes G. S. Dikshit, State Champion by T. A. Krishnamachariar)
* The Hindu Dated June 6, 1952 Picture of Mr. G. S. Dikshit Madras State Chess Championship
* The Hindu Dated June 29, 1952 The Madras State Tournament by T. A. Krishnamachariar
* The Hindu Dated July 27, 1952 Chess Notes Facts and Figures By T. A Krishnamachariar
* The Hindu Dated July 1953 ... Three In a Row for South Indian Star by V. K. Raman Menon (date unknown.. month and year known)
* The Hindu Dated January 9, 1956 Chess. Andhra State Tourney Dixit Wins Title Again (from our correspondent) Kakinada
* The Hindu January 29, 1956 Chess Notes The Andhra State Championship By T. A Krishnamachariar

{{Chess national championships}}

[[Category:Chess national championships]]
[[Category:Women's chess national championships]]
[[Category:Chess in India|Championship]]
[[Category:1955 in chess]]
[[Category:1974 in chess]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1955]]
[[Category:1955 establishments in India]]

Indian Chess Championship - Revision history

Kkasthana at 22:13, 9 January 2026