| National Chess Championship in Open and Women categories | |
|---|---|
  The 2025 recipients: P. Iniyan and P. V. Nandhidhaa | |
| Awarded for | Best National Chess player |
| Sponsored by | All India Chess Federation |
| Rewards |
|
| First award | 1955 (Open), 1974 (Women) |
| Final award | 2025 |
| Most recent winner |
|
| Highlights | |
| Most wins | Manuel Aaron (9) in Open, Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (6) in Women |
| First 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.[1] Earlier, G. S. Dikshit of Pithapuram won the Andhra and Madras State Championships for three consecutive years, 1952–54.[2] 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 World Chess Federation president, Max Euwe, and Euwe ruled that female players could not be barred from open chess events.[3]
The separate women's championship commenced in 1974. The first ten editions were dominated by the Khadilkar sisters Vasanti, Jayshree and 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.[4]
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
Winners- Women Champions
Gallery
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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
Notes
- ^ The Hindu, June 6, 1955
- ^ British Chess Magazine, July 1955, p. 213
- ^ "Gender trenders: How India's women chess pioneers fought a patriarchal system and won". Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ https://www.chessbase.in/news/Indian-Oil-51st-National-Women-Chess-Championship-2025-Round-11-report
- ^ Ganguly wins sixth successive National 'A' chess title The Times of India
- ^ 46th National A Chess Championship, India. Tournament report Archived 2024-12-08 at the Wayback Machine FIDE
References
- List of winners 1955-2006
- List of women's winners 1974-2006[permanent dead link]
- D.K. Bharadwaj (2003), A big boom in the brain game; A history of chess in India
- The Hindu news 41st edition
- The Hindu news 42nd edition
- Chessbase report of the 43rd edition
- Chessbase report of the 44th edition
- TWIC news 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
