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Surya Shekhar Ganguly
At Tata Steel Chess, 2018.jpg
Ganguly at Tata Steel Chess, Kolkata, 2018
Country India
Born (1983-02-24) 24 February 1983 (age 42)
Kolkata, India
Title Grandmaster (2003)
FIDE rating 2635 (September 2025)
Peak rating 2676 (July 2016)
Peak ranking No. 55 (March 2010)

Surya Shekhar Ganguly was born on February 24, 1983. He is a famous chess player from India. He holds the highest title in chess, which is Grandmaster. He earned this title when he was 19 years old. Before that, he became an International Master at 16.

Surya Shekhar Ganguly has won many awards and medals for his chess skills. He has earned 40 individual gold medals, 21 individual silver medals, and 6 individual bronze medals in different tournaments. He also helped the Indian team win 12 gold, four silver, and three bronze medals in team events. In 2020, he was the captain of the Indian team that won second place in the Asian Nations Online Cup.

The Indian government honored him with the Arjuna Award in 2005. This award is given for great achievements in sports. He also received the "Bangabhusan" award in 2015, which is a high civilian award in West Bengal. In 2024, a movie called Dabaru was made, inspired by his life story.

Surya Shekhar Ganguly's Chess Journey

Surya Shekhar Ganguly has played in many chess tournaments. These include both national (within India) and international (around the world) events. He became an International Master (IM) in 2000. He then earned his Grandmaster (GM) title at the 35th Chess Olympiad in 2002.

Early Life and First Steps in Chess

1st Pic
Childhood photo of Surya Shekhar Ganguly

Surya Shekhar Ganguly was born in Kolkata, India. His grandfather taught him how to play chess when he was just 5 years old. He quickly became well-known in Kolkata's chess world. He was often the youngest player in tournaments but still managed to win prizes.

When he was 8, in 1991, he won both the Indian National Under-10 and Under-12 Championships. He won these titles again in 1992 and 1995. At the age of 11, in 1995, he achieved something amazing: he beat a Grandmaster! At that time, he was the youngest player ever to do so.

National Chess Success

Surya Shekhar Ganguly has a fantastic record in national chess events. He won the Indian National Championship six times in a row, from 2003 to 2008. This is a record!

Here are some of his other national achievements:

  • In 1999, his team won the National Cities championship.
  • He won the National "B" championship in 1999 when he was 16.
  • He was the National Junior Champion in 1999/2000.
  • His team won the National Team championship in 2001, 2002, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
  • He won the National Rapid championship in 2005.

Asian Chess Achievements

Surya Shekhar Ganguly has also done very well in chess events across Asia.

  • He won a bronze medal at the Asian Continental Championship in 2001.
  • He won gold medals in the Asian Zonal championships in 2003 and 2007.
  • His team, India, won silver medals in the Asian Team Chess Championship in 2003, 2007, and 2008. They won gold in 2005 (where he also won an individual gold) and 2009.
  • At the Asian Indoor Games in 2007, he won two silver medals and one gold medal.
  • He won a gold medal at the Asian Continental Championship in 2009.
  • He played for the Indian team that won a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2010.
  • He won a silver medal at the Asian Continental Championship in 2015.
  • He won bronze medals in the Asian Team Championship (Classical and Rapid) in Iran in 2018.

World and International Tournaments

Surya Medal Wiki
Surya Shekhar Ganguly at the World Team Chess Championship

Surya Shekhar Ganguly has represented India in six Chess Olympiads (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010). He earned his Grandmaster title at the 35th Olympiad in Slovenia in 2002.

  • He won an individual gold medal at the World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2019.
  • In the World Team Chess Championship 2010, his team won bronze, and he won an individual gold medal.
  • He won a bronze medal at the World Junior in 2002.
  • He was joint champion at the Delhi International and Kolkata Open in 2004.
  • He won the Bangladesh International in 2005 and the ONGC International in 2006.
  • He won the Commonwealth Open gold (Junior) in 2000 and 2003/2004. He then won silver in the Open section in 2007 and 2008.
  • He won the Sydney International in 2008 and the Parsvanath International in 2009.
  • He was a joint winner of the Indonesia Open Chess Championship in 2011.
  • He won the Fujairah INT Masters Tournament in 2012.
  • He won the LIC 2nd International Grand Masters Chess Tournament in Kolkata in 2015.
  • He won the 16th Bangkok Chess Club Open in 2016.
  • He won the O2C Doeberl Cup Premier in 2017.
  • He won the Hunan International Open in China in 2019.

Working with Viswanathan Anand

With Anand at kolkata
Surya Shekhar Ganguly with Viswanathan Anand in Kolkata

Surya Shekhar Ganguly was an important member of the team that helped Viswanathan Anand win his World Chess Championship matches. Anand is a former World Champion. Ganguly helped Anand prepare for his matches against Vladimir Kramnik (2008), Veselin Topalov (2010), and Boris Gelfand (2012).

Anand has spoken highly of Ganguly's work. He said that Ganguly is a very good chess player and analyst who works very hard. He also mentioned that they worked together for many years and planned to continue doing so because their "formula" was working well.

Personal Life

Surya Shekhar Ganguly's parents are Pankaj and Aarti Ganguly. He has an older sister who is a doctor. He works as a Senior Manager at the Indian Oil Corporation. In 2011, he married Sudeshna Dutta, who is a doctor in biotechnology. They have two children, a daughter and a son.

Notable Games

Anand Game
A chess board

Surya Shekhar Ganguly has played many memorable games against top players. Some of these include games against:

  • Anand
  • Yu Yangi
  • Mareco Sandro
  • Carlsen
  • Svidler

Sample Game

Ganguly vs. Shirov, Edmonton 2016
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 8
7 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn 7
6 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black queen {{{square}}} black bishop 6
5 {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white queen {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn 4
3 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 3
2 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 2
1 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white rook 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
The position after 28...Bc8.

This game was played in the 11th Edmonton International Tournament in 2016. It was a round-robin event with 10 players. Ganguly (playing with White pieces) played against Alexei Shirov (playing with Black pieces) in the last round. Both players needed to win this game. Ganguly needed to win to share first place, and Shirov needed to win to share second place.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 Rb8 13.a4 bxa4 14.Ncb4 Nxb4 15.cxb4 0-0 16.Rxa4 a5 17.h4 Bh6 18.b5 Bd7 19.Nc3 d5 20.exd5 e4 21.Be2 f5 22.d6 Kh8 23.g3 f4 24.Rxe4 Bf5 25.Re5 Qf6 26.Qd5 fxg3 27.fxg3 Qg6 28.g4 Bc8 (This is the position shown in the diagram.)

29.Ne4!! Ganguly made this move, thinking about how to win safely. Even though a computer might suggest a faster way, Ganguly trusted his strategy. Bb7 30.h5 Qxe4 31.Qxe4 Bxe4 32.Rxe4 Rfd8 33.Rd4 After these moves, White (Ganguly) was two pawns ahead. He made sure his important 'd6' pawn was safe, which stopped Black from being active. Bc1 34.d7 This move was also very safe, as it completely limited Black's moves. Bxb2 35.Rd5 Rb7 36.0-0 g6 37.h6 Ba3 38.Rf7 a4 39.Re5 Rbb8 40.Bc4 Bf8 41.Kg2 a3 42.Ba2 Bd6 43.Re6 Bf8 44.b6 White was about to play b7, which would leave Black's bishop with no good moves. Shirov decided to give up the game. 1-0

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