National Champions
Indian Chess Champions
A list of Indian National Premier Chess Championship winners, with a short history of India's open national championship from 1955 to the latest completed event.
Current Champion
P. Iniyan
Current champion after winning the 2025 Indian Championship in Guntur on tiebreak over Goutham Krishna.
Most Championships
Manuel Aaron, 9
First Championship
National Premier Chess Championship founded in 1955
Champions
29
63 championships
Championship History
India's National Premier Chess Championship began in 1955 at Eluru and was jointly won by Ramchandra Sapre and Dharbha Venkayya. The event was initially not annual, but from 1971 it became the regular national championship line.
Manuel Aaron holds the record with nine titles. Praveen Thipsay, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, and Viswanathan Anand also won the championship several times.
The 2025 championship was held in Guntur. P. Iniyan finished level with Goutham Krishna on points and took his first classical national title on tiebreak.
India Champion List
Champions appear from oldest to newest. Shared titles and tied first places appear under each player's name.
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1955 | Ramchandra Sapre |
| 1955 | Dharbha Venkayya |
| 1957 | Ramdas Gupta |
| 1959 | Manuel Aaron |
| 1961 | Manuel Aaron |
| 1963 | Farooq Ali |
| 1966 | Rusi Madon |
| 1967 | Syed Nasir Ali |
| 1969 | Manuel Aaron |
| 1971 | Manuel Aaron |
| 1972 | Manuel Aaron |
| 1973 | Manuel Aaron |
| 1975 | Manuel Aaron |
| 1976 | Manuel Aaron |
| 1976 | Raja Ravi Sekhar |
| 1978 | Rafiq Khan |
| 1979 | Raja Ravi Sekhar |
| 1979 | T. N. Parameswaran |
| 1981 | Manuel Aaron |
| 1982 | Praveen Thipsay |
| 1983 | Dibyendu Barua |
| 1984 | Praveen Thipsay |
| 1985 | Praveen Thipsay |
| 1986 | Viswanathan Anand |
| 1987 | Viswanathan Anand |
| 1988 | Viswanathan Anand |
| 1989 | Praveen Thipsay |
| 1990 | D. V. Prasad |
| 1991 | D. V. Prasad |
| 1992 | Praveen Thipsay |
| 1993 | Praveen Thipsay |
| 1994 | Praveen Thipsay |
| 1995 | Ponnuswamy Konguvel |
| 1996 | T. N. Parameswaran |
| 1997 | Abhijit Kunte |
| 1998 | Dibyendu Barua |
| 1999 | Krishnan Sasikiran |
| 2000 | Abhijit Kunte |
| 2001 | Dibyendu Barua |
| 2002 | Krishnan Sasikiran |
| 2003 | Krishnan Sasikiran |
| 2003 | Surya Shekhar Ganguly |
| 2004 | Surya Shekhar Ganguly |
| 2006 | Surya Shekhar Ganguly |
| 2007 | Surya Shekhar Ganguly |
| 2008 | Surya Shekhar Ganguly |
| 2008 | Surya Shekhar Ganguly |
| 2009 | Baskaran Adhiban |
| 2010 | Parimarjan Negi |
| 2011 | Abhijeet Gupta |
| 2012 | G. Akash |
| 2013 | Krishnan Sasikiran |
| 2014 | S. P. Sethuraman |
| 2015 | Karthikeyan Murali |
| 2016 | Karthikeyan Murali |
| 2017 | Babu M.R. Lalith |
| 2018 | Aravindh Chithambaram |
| 2019 | Aravindh Chithambaram |
| 2022 | Arjun Erigaisi |
| 2022-23 | Karthik Venkataraman |
| 2023 | S. P. Sethuraman |
| 2024 | Karthik Venkataraman |
| 2025 | P. Iniyan |
Sources
Sources include federation archives, tournament reports, and historical winners tables.
- FIDE report on the 2025 Indian Championship
- Indian Chess Championship historical table
- All India Chess Federation event circular
Last reviewed: July 15, 2026.