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Akshayraj Kore
Kore GM Chess Paris.jpg
Kore in 2013
Country India
Born (1988-09-01) 1 September 1988 (age 37)
Ahmednagar, India
Title Grandmaster (2013)
FIDE rating 2482 (September 2025)
Peak rating 2512 (March 2013)

Akshayraj Kore (born 1 September 1988) is a talented Indian chess player. He holds the highest title in chess, which is Grandmaster. In 2006, he became Maharashtra's youngest International Master (IM). He earned this title after winning a special chess tournament in Ukraine. By February 2013, he had achieved the Grandmaster title. He was the 32nd Indian player to become a Grandmaster.

Early Life and Education

Akshayraj Kore was born on September 1, 1988, in Ahmednagar, India. His family soon moved to Sangli, in Maharashtra. Later, in 1996, they settled in Pune. In Pune, he attended MAEER's MIT High School and Junior College. He later earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science. He graduated from Marathwada Mitramandal's College Of Engineering, part of University of Pune.

Chess Career Highlights

Starting His Chess Journey (1998–2006)

Akshayraj Kore began his chess training with Narhar Venkatesh. This coach was well-known for guiding other famous Indian female chess players. In 1999, Akshayraj won a silver medal at the state level for players under 12. The next year, 2000, he won the State Championship. He also represented India at the under-12 World Youth Chess Championship. Even though he was ranked 49th, he finished in the top 10.

Kore vs. Soshnikov, Luhansk 2006


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Kore's clever move in the 5th round against Mikhail Soshnikov.
White plays 36.Qc5+! and wins in five moves.

In 2001, International Master Sekhar Chandra Sahu became his coach. That year, Kore won a bronze medal at the U-16 Sub-Junior National Chess Championship. In 2002, he won the National U-14 Rapid Chess Championship. He also earned a silver medal in the U-16 Sub-Junior National Chess Championship. His chess rating (ELO) increased to over 2300 that year.

He played fewer games for a while due to school exams. However, in 2003, he won the U-16 Commonwealth Chess Championship. He was also part of the team that won a bronze medal at The Youth Chess Olympiad in Turkey. This was India's first medal ever in a Chess Olympiad.

In 2004, he achieved his first International Master norm in Ukraine. His rating also increased to over 2400. He defeated Grandmaster Pavel Kotsur in a tournament in Lucknow. In 2005, he beat Ukrainian Grandmaster Ruslan Pogorelov in a tournament in Dhaka.

In 2006, he earned his second IM norm in Ukraine. He then gained his third and final norm in Luhansk, Ukraine. He scored 12 points out of 16 games, officially becoming an International Master. He was praised for a special combination of moves in a game against Soshnikov Mikhail.

After Becoming an International Master

In July 2006, Kore won a blitz chess tournament in Pune. He secured the win with one round still to play.

He took a break from chess to focus on his engineering studies. However, he continued to play in tournaments from time to time. During this period, in 2008, Kore tied for third place in the Indian National Challengers Chess Championship. He qualified for the Indian National Premier Chess Championship. In that championship, he defeated Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi.

Kore vs. Satyapragyan, Manglore 2008
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From the Indian National Premier Chess Championship, 2008.
White played 17.Bxg7!?. Kore's sacrifice led to a win on move 32.
Negi vs. Kore, Manglore 2008
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From the Indian National Premier Chess Championship, 2008.
Negi gave up after Black played 42....Rb4+.

Becoming a Grandmaster (Since 2012)

Akshayraj Kore started playing chess actively again in January 2012. He tied for second place in the Chennai International Open Tournament. There, he also earned his first Grandmaster (GM) norm. A GM norm is a high-level performance needed to become a Grandmaster.

In Greece, he finished second in the 4th Rethymno International Chess Tournament. This earned him his second GM norm. His third GM norm came in France at the 11th Rochefort Chess Tournament in 2013. At the 27th Cannes Chess Festival in France, Kore achieved his fourth GM norm. He also met the rating requirements for the GM title. He even won that tournament with a very high performance rating. In April 2013, FIDE (the World Chess Federation) officially awarded him the "Grandmaster" title.

In late 2013, Kore began a graduate program in Computer Science in the United States. He helped his university chess team reach the finals of the President's Cup. In 2013, he won a very exciting game against Grandmaster Julio Sadorra. This game was important for his team's victory. In 2014, at the President's Cup, Kore surprised the chess world by beating Wesley So. Wesley So was a rising star and one of the world's top players. Kore was praised for his original and aggressive play in this game. Later in 2014, Kore also tied for first place at the Atlantic Open tournament.

Sadorra vs. Kore, Lubbock 2013
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From the Pan-Am InterCollegiate Chess Championship, 2013.
Kore checkmated Sadorra after his own King moved to the center of the board.
So vs. Kore, New York 2014
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From the President's Cup, 2014.
Kore caused a big upset by beating Wesley So, who was then ranked 12th in the world.
This was Wesley So's last loss for about a year.

Coaching Young Chess Players

Akshayraj Kore has also found success as a chess coach. He has helped many young talents since he became an International Master in 2006.

He coached Abhimanyu Puranik, a promising Indian chess player, before the U-10 World Chess Championship in 2010. Puranik went on to win a bronze medal at that championship. Puranik later became a Grandmaster in 2017. Kore and Puranik worked together for two years, from 2010 to 2011.

Shardul Ghagare also trained with Kore in 2011. Ghagare is now also a Grandmaster. Kore also worked with Advait Patel, a young American chess player, in 2013. Additionally, Kore has helped his close friend and fellow Grandmaster, Abhijeet Gupta, in some tournaments between 2012 and 2013.

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