GMViswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand was born in Tamil Nadu in 1969 and grew up in Chennai. His mother taught him chess at six. During a childhood stay in the Philippines, she helped him continue playing and took him to chess and tennis activities. He became known for playing quickly, earning the nickname the Lightning Kid. Anand won the World Junior Championship in 1987. In 1988, he became India's first grandmaster. He also completed a commerce degree at Loyola College in Chennai.

His first world title came in 2000, when he defeated Alexei Shirov in the FIDE championship final. He became undisputed world champion by winning the 2007 championship tournament in Mexico City. He defended the title against Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov and Boris Gelfand. After losing to Magnus Carlsen in 2013, he won the 2014 Candidates Tournament to earn a rematch. His rapid-chess career included world titles in 2003 and 2017. He received India's first Khel Ratna award and later the Padma Vibhushan. Anand's influence also extended to the next generation of Indian players. He mentored Gukesh Dommaraju and recommended that he work with Grzegorz Gajewski, who had helped Anand prepare for his own championship matches. When Gukesh lost the opening game of the 2024 title match, Anand reminded him that an early defeat could still be overcome.