Have a look at the bio, age, state and rating of Aravindh Chithambaram
Aravindh Chithambaram is a young and upcoming Indian chess grandmaster who has just won the Chennai Grandmasters 2024, find out more about him and his achievement below.
Amusingly, Aravindh Chithambaram initially entered the tournament with the aim of not finishing last, but went on to win it.
Who is chess player Aravindh Chithambaram, biography, age, parents, state, education and live FIDE rating
This year’s competition marked the second edition of the Chennai Grandmasters classical chess tournament.
The tournament took place at the Anna Centenary Library auditorium, on Monday, November 11, 2024.
Aravindh Chithambaram wins Chennai Grandmasters 2024
Aravindh Chithambaram put up a surprise performance at the Chennai Grandmasters 2024 by clinching the title. He won the title after defeating the USA’s Levon Aronian by 2-0 in a blitz tie-break. Notably, it was Aravindh’s first-ever classical super tournament and initially began the tournament with a struggle.
Aravindh started out his Chennai Grandmasters 2024 campaign on the backfoot as he had to defend throughout the first round and manage a draw with Iranian Amin Tabatabaei. He then went on to draw all his games up until the fifth round. Chithambaram made a breakthrough in the sixth round with a win against top seed Arjun Erigaisi. The 25-year-old then managed to win with black pieces versus Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo in the last round.
Following the end of the challenger rounds, there was a three-way tie between Arjun (4.5), Aravindh (4.5), and Aronian (4.5) for the championship. Notably, Aravindh Chithambaram had the best tie-break record in terms of direct encounter. As such, he won the bye to face the winner of the Arjun-Aronian blitz tie-break (two games). However, the tie-break further again ended in a tie (1-1), with the pair playing an Armageddon decider. Aronian eventually won against Arjun by virtue of holding him to a draw with black pieces. As a result, Aravindh and Aronian faced off in the finals where Aravindh emerged victorious.
Aravindh Chithambaram bio
Aravindh Chithambaram Veerappan is an Indian chess grandmaster who was born on September 11, 1999, in Thirunagar, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He has so far won the Indian chess championships twice, back in 2018 and 2019. Aravindh’s father died when he was just three years old, while his mother worked as a Life Insurance Corporation agent. He first learned how to play chess when he was just seven from his paternal grandfather. What started out as a way to keep him from constantly leaving the house to play cricket eventually turned into a passion.
Chithambaram was all of 3-years of age when his father passed away but his mother, Deivanai, not the one to give in, became a life insurance agent and supported him.
In 2011, GM Ramachandran Ramesh stepped in as his coach, helping him develop his talents at the Chess Gurukul Academy in Chennai. The Velammal High School which Aravindh attended did not charge Aravindh tuition fees and his cause was furthered by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which extended him a scholarship.
Aravindh, Chithambaram VR. Age 25 ; Title: Grandmaster ; Live Rating: 2718.1 ; Live Rank: #26 ; FIDE Rating: 2706 ; World Rank: #29
Chess career
Aravindh mainly gained prominence after winning the Indian U19 Chess Championship at the young age of 12. He then went on to compete in the World U14 Chess Championship in 2012, coming in second behind Kayden Troff. He eventually won his first major tournament at the 2013 Chennai Grandmaster International Open when he scored 9/11.
During that tournament run, he defeated four grandmasters and two international masters. As a result, he earned him his first grandmaster norm. He then earned his international master title in 2014 before eventually securing his current grandmaster title in 2015.
Rankings
Given below are Aravindh Chithambaram’s rankings as of November 2024:
- FIDE rating 2706
- Peak rating 2706
- Ranking 29
Meanwhile, he achieved his Peak ranking of No. 29 in July earlier this year.
Aravindh Chithambaram has an Instagram account with the handle @kingof64squares, where he has around 2,933 followers, and about 93 posts.