GMSafal Bora

Safal Bora grew up in Troy, Michigan. He combined chess with business and engineering studies at the University of Michigan. In 2016 he earned his first grandmaster norm in Charlotte after winning his last three games. He played for Michigan's team when it finished third at the 2018 Ivy Chess Challenge. In 2023 he shared second place with Aram Hakobyan and Yasser Quesada at the SPICE Cup. His final grandmaster norm came at a New York invitational in July 2024. A last-round victory over Oliver Barbosa secured it. He reached the remaining rating requirement that December, and FIDE records his Grandmaster title in 2025. Outside tournament chess, he has worked as a software engineer at Microsoft.