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.
Last reviewed: June 4, 2026.
Current Champion
P. Iniyan
Current champion after winning the 2025 Indian Championship in Guntur on tiebreak over Goutham Krishna.
Most Listed Wins
Manuel Aaron, 9
First Championship
National Premier Chess Championship founded in 1955
Listed Champions
29
63 listed title wins across 63 chronological entries.
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 set the long-running record with nine titles, while Praveen Thipsay, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, and Viswanathan Anand carried later eras of the championship before India's modern grandmaster boom.
The 2025 championship continued the open national line in Guntur. P. Iniyan finished level with Goutham Krishna on points and took his first classical national title on tiebreak.
India Champion List
Champions are shown chronologically from oldest to newest. Shared titles and tied first places are represented by the same year appearing for more than one player.
| 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
Current-champion details were checked against official federation, organizer, or FIDE reports where available. Historical winner lists were cross-checked against maintained championship tables.