Aravindh Chithambaram Age, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Aravindh Chithambaram Veerappan
Other name	Chithambaram V R Aravindh
Profession	Chess player
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)	5' 7" (170 cm)
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Chess
Rating (as of February 2025)	Standard- 2729 Rapid- 2550 Blitz- 2622
Rank (as of February 2025)	Standard- #21 Rapid- #209 Blitz- #81
Coach/Mentor	R. B. Ramesh (grandmaster)
Playing Style	Aggressive
Record	First Indian to win the National Triple Crown by winning National Rapid Chess Championship and National Blitz Championship
Achievements	• 2024: Won the Chennai Grand Master International Open Chess Tournament • 2023: Won the MPL National Blitz Chess Championship held in Barnai, Jammu • 2023: Top Seed at the MPL National Rapid Chess Championship 2022-2023 held in Barnai, Jammu • 2022: Won the MPL National Blitz Chess Championship held in Nashik, Maharashtra • 2019: Men's Champion at the 57th edition the National Premier Chess Championship at Majitar, Sikkim • 2018: Men's Champion at the 56th edition the National Premier Chess Championship at Jammu • 2017: Won the IV Sunway Sitges International Chess Tournament • 2017: Won bronze medal in the World Junior Chess Championship • 2015: FIDE title of Grand Master (GM) • 2014: Won the Commonwealth Chess Championship with GM Sengupta Deep • 2014: FIDE title of International Master (IM) • 2013: Won the Chennai Grand Master International Open Chess Tournament • 2012: Won second place at the World Youth Chess Championship in the Under-14 category held in Maribor, Slovenia • 2011: FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) title of FIDE Master (FM) • 2011: Won the National Under-19 Chess Championship • 2011: Won the National Under-13 Chess Championship held in Delhi
Personal Life
Date of Birth	11 September 1999 (Saturday)
Age (as of 2024)	25 Years
Birthplace	Thirunagar, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Zodiac sign	Virgo
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Chennai
School	Velammal Higher Secondary school, Mogappair, Chennai
College/University	SRM University, Chennai
Educational Qualification	Bachelor's degree in Commerce
Religion	Hinduism
Hobbies	Reading chess books
Social Media	• Twitter
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Unmarried
Family
Parents	Mother- Deivanai (insurance agent)
Favourites
Chess Player(s)	Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen
Sport	Cricket

Some Lesser Known Facts About Aravindh Chithambaram

• Aravindh Chithambaram lost his father to a heart attack when he was merely three years of age.

• At age 7, Aravindh’s grandfather taught him to play chess, though his preferred sport was cricket.

• When he turned 8, one of his relatives encouraged him to participate in a tournament in Madurai. There, he met coach Prasad, who corrected and guided him on the rules of chess. Soon, he started playing in state-level tournaments under the guidance of coach Kamardeen.

• In 2011, he relocated to Chennai to train under Grand Master (GM) R. B. Ramesh (who was awarded the Dronacharya Award by the Government of India in 2023).

• His family faced financial difficulty with the international travel associated with achieving the GM norm (the requirements for the Grandmaster title are three norms and a FIDE rating of 2500 or more). The chess fraternity crowdfunded and raised Rs 9 Lakh for his career requirements.

• In 2013, Coach R. B. Ramesh reportedly told Susan Polgar, an American-Hungarian chess grandmaster, that Aravindh was a prodigy who, given the right chance and financial backing, could rise to the Grand Master title in six months.
  

  Aravindh Chithambaram (middle) with GM Susan Polgar and coach GM RB Ramesh

• He achieved his first GM norm (a high-level performance in a chess tournament) at the Chennai Grandmasters Open in 2013.

• In June 2024, he crossed the 2700 rating (a benchmark for elite chess players) at the French Team Chess Championship where he won against Armenian GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan.
  

  Aravindh Chithambaram and GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan at the French Team Chess Championship

• In 2025, he crossed the Elo rating (a measure of the chess player’s skill created by Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor) of 2726.

• As of February 2025, he has played 1334 games of which he won 661 games (50%) and ended 409 games (31%) in a draw.