GMShreyas Royal

Shreyas Royal was born in Bengaluru and moved to London at three when his father took an IT job. He attended the Pointer School in Blackheath on a scholarship. In 2018 a renewed work visa allowed his family to remain in Britain after uncertainty about their right to stay. His first grandmaster norm came at the Bavarian Open in Tegernsee in November 2022. At the 2023 Grand Swiss he defeated Jaime Santos Latasa and Vahap Şanal. He earned his second norm at the London Chess Classic that December. His final norm came at the 2024 British Championship, where he finished sixth. At fifteen years and seven months he became the youngest British player to qualify as a grandmaster, breaking David Howell's record. In August 2026 he won the British Championship at seventeen, becoming its youngest champion.