Shyam Nikhil (Chess Player) Age, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Other Name(s)	• P. Shyam Nikhil • Shyaam Nikhil • Shyaam Nikhil P.
Profession	Chess Grandmaster
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	5' 9" (175 cm)
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Career (Chess)
Federation	India
FIDE ID	5024218
Awards & Medals	2007: World Youth Under-16 Olympiad (gold) 2008: Runner-up at the 37th Tamil Nadu State Under 19 Open Chess Championship 2008: Won the Modern Senior Secondary School International Rating Chess Championship 2008: Won the National Under-17 Boys Chess Championship 2009: Asian Youth Under 18 Chess Championship (silver) 2009: Won the 57th TN State FIDE Rated Chess Championship 2010: Second runner-up at the 40th National Junior (Under-19) Chess Championship 2011: Second runner-up at the 41st National Junior (Under-19) Chess Championship 2011: Runner-up at the 49th National Challengers Chess Championship 2013: Second runner-up at the 61st Tamil Nadu State Senior Chess Championship 2014: Second rummer-up at the National Youth (Under-25) Chess Championship 2014: Second runner-up at the 52nd National Challengers Chess Championship 2015: Won the 2nd ACCF FIDE Rated Chess Tournament 2015: Won KCA'S 9th Fide Rated Open Chess Tournament 2016: Won the 3rd Teekay International FIDE Rated Chess Tournament 2016: Won the Sivakasi Sivam Hospital FIDE Rated Rapid Chess Tournament 2016: Won the 5th Keshabananda Memorial All India Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament 2016: Won Shri Maheshwaranand Saraswati Memorial All India Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament 2016: Won the 2nd Rail Wheel Factory International FIDE Rated Open Chess Tournament, Bangalore 2017: Won the 26th National Youth Under-25 Chess Championship 2017: Won the 30th All India Railway Chess Championship (played for ICF) 2018: Second runner-up at the 38th National Team Chess Championship 2018: Won the 31st All India Railway Chess Championship (played for ICF) 2019: Second runner-up at the 39th National Team Chess Championship 2019: Won the 5th SCS Fide Rated Chess Tournament, Sivakasi 2022: Runner-up at the 1st National Open Team Chess Championship (played for RSPB A) 2022: Won the Pandit. Shri Shiv Kumar Khamparia Memorial International Open FIDE Rating Blitz Chess Tournament 2022: Won the 2nd VS Chess Academy FIDE Rapid Rating Chess Tournament 2022: Won the 7th Noisiel Open 2022: Commonwealth Chess Championship (gold) 2023: Second runner-up at the 38th ChessOrg Festival Bad Woerishofen 2023: Won the 35th All India Inter Railway Team Chess Championship (played for ICF) 2024: Runner-up at the 43rd National Team Chess Championship (played for RSPB B) 2024: Won the 18th Tamil Nadu IM-norm Closed Circuit
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Year, 1992
Age (as of 2024)	32 Years
Birthplace	Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Nagercoil
Family
Parents	Father- K Ponnuswamy (data entry operator at the state express transport corporation) Mother- P Santhi (homemaker)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shyam Nikhil

• Shyam Nikhil started playing chess at the age of 8. It was his parents who introduced him to the game.

• He considers Mikhail Tal, a Latvian-Soviet chess player, his idol.

• During the initial years of his career in chess, he was guided by R. Anantharam, an international arbiter.

• He started competing in tournaments and championships at the age of 11. Later, he won his first championship in the under-13 category and qualified for the nationals, where he secured second place.

• In 2005, he competed in the World Youth Chess Championship in the under-14 category, but he lost the match.

• In 2011, he earned his first GM norm at the 4th Mumbai Mayor’s Cup.

• In 2017, he joined Indian Railway’s Integral Coach Factory as a junior clerk under the sports quota. He later participated in many inter-railway chess competitions and national-level championships.

• In 2021, he earned his second GM norm at the 46th National Premier Chess Championship, held in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. He defeated GM Deep Sengupta and GM Neelotpal Das.
  

  Shyam Nikhil (left) at the 46th National Premier Chess Championship

• Shyam earned his third norm after about 12 years at the Dubai Police Global Chess Challenge in 2024 and became the 85th Grandmaster of India.
  

  Shyam Nikhil at the 2024 Dubai Police Global Chess Challenge