Akhil Gopu

Akhil Gopu began playing chess after receiving a chess set in preschool. His father became his first regular opponent, and he later joined the Austin Grandmaster Chess Academy. In 2025 he won the South Texas K-1 championship with seven wins in seven games. He also won a Texas second-grade division that October and finished seventh in the national second-grade championship in Spokane in December. A community profile described his daily online practice and preference for the Scotch Gambit with White and Sicilian Defense with Black. Away from chess, he plays soccer and enjoys Monopoly and Ticket to Ride with his family.