Pranav Anand GM

The career

From a Ludo board to 2600

Pranav Anand began learning chess at six, when his father offered him a choice between a Ludo board and a chess board. He picked chess because it looked like fun.

2606
Standard
Oct 2026
2606
Peak
Jan 2026
2464
Rapid
2481
Blitz
#17
India
active
#137
World
active

Every figure verifiable on the FIDE profile — chess is the most transparent sport there is.

Formal training began under the late L. Seshadri in Mysore, followed by Jayaram at Chess Shoots Academy, Vishal Sareen, and IM V. Saravanan. He now works with a foreign coach and trains with grandmasters.

He works with Chola Chess and the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA). Financial support for the season comes from HPCL, Group e4 and the Quantbox Research scholarship.

The first institution to back him was Syndicate Bank — now Canara Bank — with a one-time grant in 2016. He was nine, in the year he became the world's top-ranked under-10. The 24|7.ai Foundation then supported him from 2017 to 2025, across the whole climb from junior player to Grandmaster.

Known for his calculation and endgame strength, Pranav has sustained a 40-plus hour training week for years. Saravanan describes him as "almost maniacal in his pursuit of chess study and play," with a fundamentally strategic style of active positional play.

Timeline

2015–2016

Early dominance

Won the Karnataka State U-9 (2015) and U-11 (2016) championships. Became World No. 1 in the Under-10 category in September 2016 after a run of tournaments in Austria and the Czech Republic, gaining 330 Elo points, and was rated 2230 at the age of ten. Syndicate Bank — now Canara Bank — gave him a one-time grant that year, the first institutional backing he received.

2018

FIDE Master

Earned a first IM norm at the Rilton Cup 2018–19 and was awarded the FIDE Master title.

2019–2020

IM norms

Norms at Biel Masters 2019 and Aeroflot Open B 2020, the latter won with the black pieces in the final round. The pandemic then delayed confirmation of the title.

February 2021

International Master

At 14 years, 3 months and 15 days, beat GM Stefan Djurić in Belgrade to cross 2400.

2022

Grandmaster norms

Norms at Sitges Open in January, Vezerkepzo GM Round Robin in March and the 55th Biel Chess Festival in July — drawing with GM Eduardo Iturrizaga and beating GMs Maxime Lagarde and S.P. Sethuraman.

September 2022

Grandmaster, and World Youth champion

At 15 years, 10 months and 12 days, crossed 2500 live at the World Youth Chess Championship in Mamaia, Romania — India's 76th Grandmaster and the youngest from Karnataka. Took the U-16 gold with 9/11, a point and a half clear of the field.

2023–2024

On the world stage

Won the Biel Chess Festival Rapid Open with 8/9. Finished tenth at World Junior in both 2023 and 2024 — the only Indian in the top ten at either edition.

2025–2026

Past 2600

Won the President's Cup of Tajikistan and the 42nd Cappelle la Grande Open. Reached a peak rating of 2606 in January 2026, faced Magnus Carlsen at the World Blitz with a 2739 performance, and won the Brasov Grand Prix unbeaten.

Significant accomplishments

  • Grandmaster at 15 years, 10 months and 12 days — India's 76th, September 2022
  • International Master at 14 years, 3 months and 15 days — February 2021
  • World Youth U-16 Gold Medallist, World Youth Chess Championship, Romania, September 2022
  • Winner, Brasov Grand Prix Classic, July 2026 — unbeaten, 7.5/9
  • Winner, 42nd Cappelle la Grande Open, February 2026
  • Winner, President's Cup of Tajikistan, November 2025
  • Fourth at the London Chess Classic Open 2025, half a point off first
  • Only Indian in the top ten, Asian Men's Championship, February 2026
  • Runner-up, Biel Masters Open (MTO), July 2025
  • Tied first at the Benasque Open 2025, third on tie-breaks
  • Only Indian in the top ten at World Junior 2023 and World Junior 2024
  • Asian Youth U-16 Gold Medallist, October 2021
  • Winner, Groningen Chess Festival A, December 2022
  • Winner, Biel Chess Festival Rapid Open, July 2023
  • Best Junior, Riga Open, August 2021
  • World No. 1 in the Under-10 category, September 2016
  • Karnataka State U-9 and U-11 Champion
Awards
  • Cash reward of ₹10 lakh from the Government of Karnataka for the World Youth U-16 title, 2022
  • Eminent Sportsperson of the Year 2023 — Delhi Public School (East), Bengaluru
  • Esprit de Corps Recognition — National Public School, 2024
Education
  • Classes XI–XII — National Public School, Koramangala (CBSE), 2023–2025
  • Class X — Delhi Public School (East), Bengaluru (CBSE), 2021–2023

For journalists

Biography in three lengths, a factsheet, correct name and title usage, and photographs cleared for editorial use.

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