Karnataka IMs & GMs
1. IM D V Prasad
Karnataka’s first International Master D V Prasad also an Arjuna Awardee in the year 1987 by Govt. of India.
2. IM Ravi Gopal Hegde (ELO 2209)
IM Ravi Gopal Hege is Karnataka’s 2nd International Master and is employed with Indian Bank, Mumbai.
3. GM Thej Kumar MS
International Master Thej Kumar MS of Mysore, a former Karnataka State Chess Champion and National ‘A’ player completed his third and final IM norm in April 2008 to become International Master. The third IM norm was gained in Kolkata Grandmaster Chess tournament. Born on the 1st of January, 1981, Thej Kumar hails from Mysore and is employed with SW Railways on Sports Quota. He reached his career best rating of 2467 in September 2009 and having 3 GM norms in his cap. Currently waiting to reach the elite mark of 2500 ELO to become Karnataka’s first Grandmaster.
4. IM Shivananda BS
Hailing from a remote village beleyur of sagar taluk in shimoga district, this international master is a full time chess professional and still very much active. He also has one GRAND MASTER norm .His highest rating of 2467 points in 2005 (still an all-time record for a Karnataka player) was equaled only recently. He has won close to a dozen national open tournaments and has got runner up positions in another eight tourneys. He is a multiple times winner of numerous Karnataka championships & open tournaments. He is also a well-known coach. Some of his successful students include former world u/8 champion, world u/10 silver medalist, u/13 Asian champion, u/16 commonwealth champion, u/17 national champion, national women’s champion, national blind champion and a few other state champions.
5. GM Stany GA
Stany hails from Shimoga started playing chess at the age of 8, joined Nalanda Chess Academy in the city where he was trained under Srikrishna Udupa. He made his 3rd and final IM norm in 4th Rethymno International Chess Tournament in Rethymno, Greece from July 7 to 14 2012. He is pursuing final year B.Com at PES Institute of Advanced Management Studies in the city. Earlier he had won silver medal in under-18 Asian Chess Championship of 2011 held in Philippines and had secured fourth position in Under 18 World Chess Championship held in the same year in Brazil.
6. IM Viani Antonio D’Cunha
Recipient of the Ekalavya Awardee for Chess in 2011, Viani Antonio D’Cunha of South Canara and a student of R.V. Col mt-3 mt-md-0lege of Engineering, Bangalore has achieved the title International Master in Abu Dhabi Chess Festival – International Masters Tournament held from 21st to 29th August 2016. Viani Antonio D’cunha achieved his International Master title by attaining the required rating of 2400 in the last round against International Master Fawzy Adham of Egypt. Thus he is the first and only International Master in Chess from South Canara District. Viani has achieved 5 International Master (required for the title 3) norms out of which 3 norms were achieved in previous Abu Dhabi events. With the rating of 2346, he increased 41 points in Czech Open 2016 and 23 in Abu Dhabi Masters and now has a live rating of 2410.
7. IM Raghunandan K S
Karnataka State Open 2016 Champion, Raghunandan K S made his first IM norm in 40 Open International d’Escacs Vila de Stiges Spain which was held from 2014-07-22 to 2014-07-31 the second IM norm was from 9th KIIT Intl Chess Festival Bhubaneshwar 2016-05-23 to 2016-05-30 the final and the third IM norm came from 9th Mumbai Mayor`s Cup Intl Open GM Mumbai 2016-06-02 to2016-06-09.
8. GM Girish Kaushik
9. GM Pranav Anand
Pranav becomes the 76th Grand Master of India and 4th GM of Karnataka. The young boy from Bangalore – Pranav Anand scored an important win in the penultimate round of the World Youth Championships 2022 to cross the Elo Rating of 2500 to become India’s 76th Grandmaster. The youngster is born in 2006 and is just 15 years old. The 15-year-old boy from Karnataka scored his first GM-norm in 8th Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival in December 2021. Then he earned his second GM-norm at Vezerkepzo GM March 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. The final GM-norm was scored at Biel International Chess Festival: 2022. He scored the last two GM-norms in just eight games.
10. WGM Isha Sharma
WGM Isha Sharma has become Karnataka’s first-ever Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and the 27th Indian woman to earn the title. She achieved her final WGM norm at the IM RR SahArt Tournament, Subotica, Serbia on 14 November 2025, completing all FIDE title requirements.
To earn the WGM title, she secured three WGM norms:
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1st WGM & IM Norm: Slovakia Open, Piešťany – 2022
(Performance rating above 2450; defeated strong Grandmasters) -
2nd WGM Norm: 4th S M le Roi Mohammed VI Crown, Morocco – 2023
(Scored 4.5/9 with a high performance rating) -
3rd (Final) WGM Norm: IM RR SahArt Tournament, Subotica, Serbia – 2025
(Strong performance above 2400 against Grandmasters)
Earlier, she was awarded the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title in 2015 and became Karnataka’s first Woman International Master (WIM) in 2020.
She is married to IM Sharan Rao. Together, they run Rao’s Chess Corner, a chess academy in Mangaluru, Karnataka, actively involved in coaching and mentoring young players.
Her achievement is a major milestone for Karnataka chess and a source of inspiration for women players across the state.
11. IM Sharan Rao
IM Sharan Rao earned the International Master (IM) title in 2023 after achieving three IM norms and crossing the 2400 FIDE live rating.
IM Norms:
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1st IM Norm: Sunway Sitges Open, Spain – 2021
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2nd IM Norm: 1st Maharashtra GM Open, India – 2022
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3rd IM Norm: Karel Janeček Open, Prague International Chess Festival, Czech Republic – 2023
He crossed the 2400 live rating at the 42nd St. Veit Jacques-Lemans Open, Austria – 2023, fulfilling all IM requirements.
Apart from competitive chess, he is the Founder and Head Coach of Rao’s Chess Corner, Mangaluru, contributing actively to chess training and development in Karnataka.
12. IM Arhan Chethan Anand
IM Arhan Chethan Anand is a rising Indian chess talent from Bangalore. Born in 2008, he achieved the title of International Master (IM) at a young age, marking him as one of the promising players of his generation.
Arhan’s introduction to chess came at the age of six, when his father described the game as a form of strategic warfare. Fascinated by the idea, he quickly developed a deep interest and began dedicating himself seriously to the game.
Early Training & Development
- Began formal training at Chess Shoots Academy
- Competed in local tournaments and steadily improved his skills
Coaching Journey
Over the years, Arhan has trained under several experienced coaches, including:
- Shesha Sir, Hanumantha Sir, Gavi Sir
- Jayaram Sir
- Aleksander Goloshchapov
He is currently coached by:
- Swayams Mishra
Achievements
- Earned the International Master (IM) title at age 15
- Reached a FIDE rating of 2394
- Continues to compete in strong tournaments and improve his international standing
Arhan remains deeply passionate about chess, actively training and competing while sharing his journey through games, tournaments, and personal milestones.
13. IM Sathvik Adiga
IM Sathvik Adiga is one of Karnataka’s youngest and most promising chess talents, earning the International Master (IM) title through consistent strong performances in norm-eligible events.
Sathvik secured his IM title by earning three norms and crossing the 2400 FIDE rating requirement over time.
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1st IM Norm – 1st Bangalore International Grandmasters Open (2024):
Sathvik scored his first IM norm at this norm-eligible international open held in Bengaluru. He had a strong performance, gaining significant rating points and marking his first norm achievement. -
2nd & 3rd IM Norms:
Following his first norm, Sathvik continued to perform well in other norm-eligible events including international opens and Swiss tournaments with titled players. Through a combination of high scores and performance ratings above the IM norm benchmark, he completed his second and third norms
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14. IM Apoorv Kamble
IM Apoorv Kamble from Bangalore, Karnataka has become one of India’s latest International Masters (IM). He achieved his three IM norms and crossed the required 2400 FIDE rating in 2025, completing all title requirements.
IM Norms:
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1st IM Norm: Teplice Open – June 2025
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2nd IM Norm: Sakthi Group 31st Tamil Nadu IM-Norm Closed Circuit Tournament – October 2025 (won the event unbeaten)
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3rd IM Norm: Sakthi Group 34th Tamil Nadu IM-Norm Round Robin Tournament – November 2025 (finished second and crossed 2400 rating)
Apoorv’s rise to the IM title was rapid; he scored all three norms in the same calendar year and gained significant rating points in strong competitive events.
15. IM Apaar Saxena
M Apaar Saxena from Bengaluru, Karnataka has earned the prestigious International Master (IM) title after an extraordinary run of performances across Europe, completing all three IM norms in just five weeks.
Born in 2012, the 14-year-old prodigy showcased exceptional consistency and maturity, rapidly climbing the international ranks and establishing himself among India’s brightest young chess talents.
IM Norm Journey
♟️ 1st IM Norm – IM Renome 2 Tournament, Bosnia (March 2025)
Apaar began his remarkable journey by winning the tournament with an impressive 7/9 score, securing his maiden IM norm.
♟️ 2nd IM Norm – San Vicente Open, Spain (April 2025)
He followed it up with another outstanding 7/9 performance in a field featuring more than 500 players from 54 countries, earning his second IM norm with two rounds to spare.
♟️ Strong Performance – Menorca Open, Spain
Apaar narrowly missed securing a third consecutive norm but delivered an excellent performance, achieving a 2404 performance rating and gaining valuable rating points.
♟️ 3rd IM Norm – IM Putnik 114 Tournament, Serbia (May 2025)
With another commanding 7/9 score, Apaar secured his final IM norm and officially earned the International Master title. During the event, he also crossed a live rating of 2450, completing all title requirements.
Achieving all three IM norms within such a short span highlights an exceptional surge in form and places Apaar among India’s most promising young chess talents.
His journey has been strongly supported by Silicon City Academy of Secondary Education, Bengaluru, under the encouragement of Principal Sumalini Ma’am and School Coordinator Shenoy Ma’am.
Notably, Apaar has not had a personal coach over the past two years. Earlier, he trained under Jayaram Ramana and supplemented his preparation through various online training programs.
His father, Prashant Saxena, has played a vital role in managing his training, preparation and tournament planning, while his mother, Ruchi Saxena, has been a constant pillar of support throughout his journey.
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